


All That's Right in the World

by Genius_626



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Asexual Character, Bisexual Characters, Bullies, CEO!Thorin, CEO!Thranduil, Cook/Waitor!Bard, Fluff and Angst, Gay Characters, High School Drama, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Novelist!Bilbo, PTSD, Queer Youth, Shy!Thorin, This will get darker, Unrequited Crush, but some violence, diner au, drama ahead, femme male character, i don't know what this is, not exactly graphic depictions of violence, protect queer youth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-08-30 17:50:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8542972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genius_626/pseuds/Genius_626
Summary: Formerly titled "The Diner AU No One Asked For." Now it's about the loving relationships between queer men, the trials of inclusive families, and the real struggles of queer youth.
Erratic updates, there is no schedule. The drama has escalated, it is no longer just fluff. I don't have control over this story anymore, I have created a monster. Run while you can, the feels can't find you if you don't click on this link.





	1. Intro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilbo discovers a diner in Dale

Bilbo, a solitary novelist based in the small town of Hobbiton, was currently doing business in Dale.

If Hobbiton was a quaint and quiet village, Dale was a busy little town. It was just next to Erebor, the bustling city. Dale was a good hour's drive from Hobbiton, and so Bilbo only made the trip to see his editor there only a few times a year. Bilbo was rather fond of traveling, although he hadn't always been. Thanks to a certain old friend who’d all but dragged him from his office one day, he would have never discovered the outside world, or written his first book for that matter.

The meeting with his editor had gone smoothly, as usual, though it had dragged on a bit. Bilbo now found himself in need of a meal, so before he left Dale for home, he found a local diner with promising online reviews. He took the short drive to the restaurant called Stone Street Diner, and was quickly seated in a booth shortly upon arrival.

The waiter — his name tag read “Bard” — was friendly and efficient, taking Bilbo's order without needing to write it down. However, as nice as Bard was, others in the restaurant were making Bilbo's visit a little less than pleasant.

Well, _one_ other. The diner was empty save for Bilbo and this one other man.

The man was two booths ahead of Bilbo, eating by himself as well, talking into his bluetooth. He was tall, blonde, and wearing sunglasses inside;

 _Like a pompous maniac_ , Bilbo thought to himself. Bilbo watched as the man was picking away at a giant plate of salad while his business call gradually sounded like it was getting increasingly more cutthroat by the second. The man sometimes held his fork up and weighed it in his hand like some kind of tiny sword, stabbing the air as he punctuated his damning words. 

Bilbo would have laughed out loud if he weren't so annoyed by the other man's droning. 

Bard eventually came up with Bilbo’s food, looking apologetic.

"Sorry about him, he's always taking calls during lunch." Bard said. 

Bilbo lifted an eyebrow. “That's a bit of a late lunch. Is he always so unprofessional?"

Bard smirked devilishly and glanced at the man they were talking about. “Only on Tuesdays." 

Bilbo laughed at the absurd answer. “I take it he comes here often, then?”

"Every weekday." Bard answered. "Without fail, he's here at twelve o'clock five days a week. I haven't served anyone else at that booth during lunch for three years."

Bilbo sat back, not having expected such a detailed report. ”Oh, lord. I’ll pray for you."

Bard laughed heartily at that, a bright smile on his face when he replied. “Funny, you're not he first person who's told me that, when it comes to him."

Bard walked away shaking his head and smiling, and Bilbo half wondered if it was because he had the privilege of escaping into the kitchen.

Bilbo spent the next few minutes eating, wholly satisfied with the chicken, potatoes and vegetables he'd ordered. He agreed with the positive online reviews and was happy that his expectation had been surpassed. Stone Street Diner was a lovely little hole-in-the-wall place, the food was good and the service was great. The customers, however...

Just as Bilbo had finished his meal, the blonde man in sunglasses had finally ended his call. Bard came back with his check, asking if Bilbo needed anything else.

"Maybe a piece of apple pie to go." Bilbo said, having wanted dessert since he saw it in the display case up front. 

Bard placed the check on the table. “Right on it, sir. I'll be back in a minute."

Bard walked in the direction of the kitchen, but stopped at the other man's table first. Bard leaned close to the blonde man, almost too close.

Bilbo, with his natural curiosity, couldn’t just look away. He was a keen listener, and could just barely hear what the other two were saying.

Bard spoke first. “I think you scared the poor bloke over there. Maybe try not to bring your wrath to my restaurant next time?”

The blonde man’s strong eyebrows rose over his glasses. “Would you rather I bring it home, then?"

Bard looked a little tested, but kept his tone light. “What you're bringing home is that salad. Did you even touch it?"

"I was busy, I’m still eating." The man said, demonstrating his sincerity by sticking some lettuce with his fork and hastily bringing it up to hover near his mouth. "Don't rush me, please, I don't want to go back to work yet."

"You haven't quite left work yet, with that thing attached to your ear." Bard quipped. Then he sighed. "And please eat before you go. I'll get you something else if you like. We both know how you get when you're working on an empty stomach."

With that, Bard left for the kitchen and was back in a flash, a box in hand and heading towards Bilbo.

“On the house.” Bard said. “And next time, I’ll make sure that certain customers leave their loud business outside.”

“Well, thank you very much.” Bilbo said. “He’s, um, he’s your boyfriend, isn’t he?”

Bard looked surprised, but smiled shyly. “Fiancé, actually. He works hard, and late, most nights. Sometimes I barely see him during the week, so he comes here during his lunch hour." Bard took the check and saw that Bilbo was leaving cash.

"Keep the change." Bilbo said, getting up from his seat.

 "Thank you." Bard said, seeing that the tip was rather large. "Sorry, again.”

Bilbo shook his head. “Nothing to apologize for, although I do appreciate the pie. I’ll be back here in a month or so, so you better have him whipped into shape.”

Bard laughed a little. “I intend to.”


	2. Backstory Time: Bard and Thranduil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bard and Thranduil's story before (and a tiny bit after) we meet them in the first chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading :) This is fun for some reason, I definitely want to continue

When Bard and Thranduil met, they couldn't have been more different.

Bard had grown up poor, and so had gotten into the work force as early as possible. He’d started at Stone Street Diner at the early age of fifteen, bussing tables while he wasn’t in school and teaching himself how to cook on his off hours. As the years passed, his boss, Mr. Masterson, seemed to like him less and less, making work a living nightmare. When graduation rolled around, Bard had to take on another job at the local butcher shop to support himself, his soon-to-be wife, and their unborn child.

The sudden death of his wife ushered in a dark period for the small Bowman family. After ten years of a happy marriage and hard work on both sides, Bard was faced with the challenge of being a single father of three. Without much time to let himself grieve, he took on more hours at work, and Sigrid dutifully willed herself to act older than her age so that she could take care of her younger siblings when Bard couldn’t.

Ten years after her death, Bard was thirty-eight and was celebrating his twenty-third year working at the Diner. It was surreal to look back on his life and see how so much had happened, and yet see how little the Diner itself had changed. Even as the the paint on the walls and the patterns on the carpets faded, Bard wasn’t the kind to have regrets. He’d grown fond of his hole-in-the-wall Diner, and especially fond of the customers. He liked cooking and taking care of people, they were his friends and neighbors. It was enough, and as long as he could take care of his kids, it would always be enough.

One day, Bard found himself serving a stranger. It wasn’t all together an odd occurrence to see a new face, but the man was entirely too overdressed for a small place like Stone Street. Not to mention that he hadn’t made a single move to take off his sunglasses upon entering.

This man was Thranduil, the CEO of Mirkwood Industries, a corporation with its headquarters just a few blocks down from Stone Street. He usually had lunch delivered to him, but after he'd fired a slew of terribly unorganized and immature interns the day before, he'd decided to take matters into his own hands.

Thranduil’s upbringing had been quite the opposite of Bard’s. He’d gone to private schools before joining the military at age eighteen. After five years of serving his country, Thranduil’s father had him attend ivy league schools before making him a full partner of Mirkwood Industries.

His life had quickly become a whirlwind in every way. Only a year after he'd been named partner, his father had passed away, allowing Thranduil to receive his full inheritance, furthermore, he was voted CEO in his father’s place. He was married months later, to a woman he’d served alongside during his army years, a woman who was at the time still serving herself. A few happy years passed before their son was born, a dream for them both. Sadly, Legolas had only just begun to walk when his mother was killed in a crossfire overseas.

Today, Legolas was a sophomore in high school, and Thranduil lived a solitary life outside of work. With battle scars and heartbreak to boot, there was little reason for Thranduil to think to care for anyone else outside of his own small circle.

Clearly, Bard Bowman and Thranduil Doriath had practically nothing in common.

…

Thranduil couldn't remember the last time he'd went out for lunch like this, let alone by himself. He tried to look casual walking into the diner, but casual was a bit difficult to manage in his dark green suit, judging by the look his waiter was giving him.

Because he was a little late for the regular lunch hour, the Diner was nearly empty. He was quickly seated at a booth by the only potted plant in the dimly lit room. The poor lighting only made it harder for Thranduil to read the menu through his dark sunglasses.

"Would you like anything to drink, sir?" Bard asked.

"Just water, thank you." Thranduil answered a little curtly.

As the waiter walked off, Thranduil noticed a young girl sitting in a booth by herself. She appeared to be writing or drawing in a notebook, a thin blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Before Bard came back with Thranduil's water, the waiter approached the girl, then leaned in and touched her forehead with the back of his hand. He seemed content with that and walked back to Thranduil.

"Is that your daughter?" Thranduil heard himself say. 

"Yeah." Bard answered. "She wasn't feeling too well this morning, and I couldn't take the day off, so I had to bring her to work. Don't worry, she's not contagious, and her fever broke hours ago. I just didn't want to leave her home alone."

Thranduil nodded, now wondering how tactless it would be to ask about the girl's mother. Bard wasn't wearing a wedding ring, so he chose not to ask. Thranduil then silently berated himself for even noticing the lack of a wedding ring. But the man was attractive, it was hard not to check.

"Do you have kids?" Bard asked.

Ah, so he was the kind of waiter who liked these sort of conversations, Thranduil thought to himself.

"Yes, I have one son. He's almost sixteen."

"Funny, that's about my only son's age." Bard smiled. "I have three kids, well two kids and one adult technically. My eldest is nineteen and going to the Laketown Community College."

Thranduil smirked. "My son's school is already having him look at colleges, I'm not sure I'm ready for that."

Bard laughed a little. "Then I'm not sure you ever will be. I’m sure not.“

They smiled and locked eyes then, losing themselves in a small, good moment. It took them a few seconds to realize that the business of ordering food had still yet to be done, which prompted Bard to list off an entire list of specials not included on the menu. He apologized and took Thranduil’s order of french onion soup right away, disappearing into the kitchen for fifteen minutes before coming back with his order.

"Did you make this yourself?" Thranduil asked. He’d noticed Bard in the kitchen, behind the counter window.

Bard shrugged. "Yeah, we're a bit short staffed today, but I'm usually in the kitchen half the time anyway."

So after Thranduil was thoroughly impressed with Bard's cooking, he decided to come back the next day.

"Back again?" Bard said, a genuine smile on his face. "You liked it that much?"

"Well, I needed a walk, and I've been told your pies are to die for." Thranduil said as Bard took him to the same booth as the day before. "I also wanted to know how your daughter was doing."

"Tilda?" Bard said, surprised that he'd asked. "Oh, she's much better, thank you. She's happily back at school today."

"I'm glad to hear that."

The next few weeks of Thranduil's lunch hour passed the same way. He gradually spent more and more time there, talking more and more with Bard every day. He sometimes came late on purpose, so that Bard could sit with him for his own lunch hour. It was a nice change of pace for both of them during their rigorous work days.

They would talk about almost everything. It had been a long time since either man had made a friend so easily. They seemed to be exact opposites, only with a few striking similarities.

“She was a hero.“ Thranduil said, having gotten to the topic of their wives. “Even now that she’s passed, her light still carries."

When he looked up at Bard then, he could see the understanding in his eyes, and honesty in his sad smile. Thranduil, against every bone in his body, lowered his sunglasses then. The plastic clicked on the wooden surface of the table, and Thranduil watched Bard carefully as the other man took in his battle scars.

Bard didn't flinch, and there wasn't a glimpse of pity either. There was nothing but a sudden understanding, and a gentle sigh. Bard reached over the table and laid his hand over Thranduil's, and for a while, that was enough for them.

…

It had been only five months after their first meeting that Thranduil felt he needed more time with Bard.

"A Christmas party?" Bard said. "You're inviting me to a house party in your mansion?”

“Well, I wouldn’t call it a mansion.” Thranduil said. “It’s a large victorian home that’s been in the family for centuries, hidden in redwoods and surrounded by the deer that steal from my vegetable garden.”

“No.” Bard said. “I-I couldn't accept, I'm not like you or anyone else going there--"

"That's why I want you to be there." Thranduil replied. “My co-workers never want to talk to me, my family is made up of second cousins and great aunts, and Legolas usually stays in his room. That’s another thing, if you want to bring your kids, I'm sure they'd all get along."

Bard reluctantly nodded and sighed. ”Well, I can ask them, see if they're interested."

"Great." Thranduil said, taking a napkin from the table and pen from his pocket. "Here's my cell number, let me know if you can make it and I’ll give you the details then.”

Thranduil swore he could see a blush on Bard's face when he handed him the napkin. A good sign, he hoped.

The Christmas party ended up very crowded that year, with Thranduil’s relatives, old friends, business associates, some employees, and finally, Bard and his children. They arrived only a little late, Bard blaming it on the street parking.

“Kids, meet my friend Thranduil Doriath.”

“Hi, Mr. Doriath. I’m Tilda.” The youngest said, very excited, clapping her little gloved hands. “And that’s Bain, and that’s Sigrid.”

The older siblings said ‘hello’ and Thranduil was more pleased then he thought he’d be to meet them. They all looked so much like Bard, and there was a little glimmer of wonder in all of their eyes. Ever Bard looked impressed, thankfully instead of overwhelmed.

“Tilda, call me Thranduil.” He said, offering his hand. She nodded happily and reached out to shake his hand.

“I know my son is around here somewhere.” Thranduil said, looking around for the blonde boy in braids. “Ah, there he is, by the dessert table.”

“Dessert table?” Bain repeated with great interest. Before either father knew it, the Bowman children were inside and going for the chocolate fountain. Within seconds, they were found by Legolas, who was very excited to see people his age. For a few minutes, Bard and Thranduil watched from across the room as Legolas easily played host. Thranduil eventually took his chance to lead Bard into the library.

Bard looked a little winded once they were alone and in a quiet space. ”Your home is...something. I mean, it's huge! I don't think I've ever seen anything like it."

Thranduil smiled and looked around fondly. “It's my childhood home. I sometimes think about moving into something smaller, since it's just Legolas and I, but then I go out into the woods from the backyard and remember how peaceful it is here, and I can't seem to part with it."

Bard tried not to melt as he met Thranduil's eyes. After months of getting to know the man, it was hard not to fall for him. “I suppose thats as good a reason as any."

Just then, they saw their kids running down the hall, laughing all the way. Even Sigrid, an adult by all means, was trying to keep up with them. She looked back to see her father and Thranduil through the open doorway and stopped for a moment to catch her breath, waving at them before starting up again. Laughter could be heard echoing down the halls.

"You were right, they do get along." Bard said. "I think they may be a little punch drunk, though. I might have to round them up before they get too rambunctious and start running into people."

"Let them have their fun, Bard. I have something to show you.” Thranduil said, taking Bard's arm and leading him outside onto the balcony. He thought he saw Bard blush and was pleased.

When they reached the balcony, Thranduil reluctantly let go of Bard. He watched as his friend looked out into the forest, into the night sky, below the stars and the full moon. They stood in companionable silence, just basking in the glow of the world.

Bard eventually spoke. He wrung his hands together as he did. “Thranduil, can I ask you something?"

Thranduil was leaning against the banister and looking into the black silhouette of the forest beyond. He leant back and gave his full attention to Bard. “What is it?"

Bard looked down and laughed nervously at himself. “It's going to sound very cliche."

Thranduil’s expression didn’t change, although he did say rather sarcastically; ”I’m waiting with baited breath."

Bard looked up and smiled despite his nerves. “Do you believe in second chances?”

Thranduil took a few seconds to think on this. “I don’t know.”

Bard stepped a little closer to Thranduil, close enough so that their cold breath mingling together in the air.

“For years, I've been trying to convince myself that…” Bard stammered, trying to find the word, “…that love, the real, unconditional romantic love that I had before only happens once. I tell myself that to spare my feelings.”

Thranduil was both surprised and relieved to hear this. ”I used to tell myself that."

"And now?"

"And now I..."

Thranduil didn't realize they'd never really said anything like this to each other. He'd been falling for Bard, and this -- whatever this was -- had been unspoken between them for months. He stepped closer to Bard, hands hesitating to come up and hold him like he wanted to. Bard helped him along, wrapping his own arms around Thranduil’s waist, turning his head so that they were cheek to cheek. 

"Yes?" Bard said, feeling his heart skip a beat when Thranduil’s arms went around him.

"And now…I want you." Thranduil sighed. Finally, the words were out in the open.

“Really?” Bard said, his voice suddenly smaller. He felt Thranduil’s arms squeeze him a little tighter. He felt the tears of happiness brim at his eyes.

“I want you too. I think I love you.“ Bard said softly.

If there was any doubt before this point about their feelings for one another, it was completely shed by the kiss they shared.

By the end of the night, Bard and his kids were the last of the guests to go. While Bard and Thranduil had spent most of the party more or less hiding out in the library, the kids had spent their time being shown around the entire estate and hiding out in Legolas’ room, playing card games and eating far too much sugar. Tilda was actually asleep by the time they left, so Bard carried her out with a promise to come back soon, to spend time just the six of them.

…

The Bowman’s visits to the Doriath estate quickly became regular weekend trips. They would sleep over and spend the entire weekend together. Because of this, it didn’t take long for the kids to realize what was going on between their parents. 

On the very first weekend they spent there, Tilda came down early for Sunday breakfast. To her utter surprise, she found Bard and Thranduil ignoring the pancake batter, Thranduil’s arms trapping Bard between himself and the counter and kissing. The sound she made had scared them out of their wits, and even as her father, Bard had no idea if it was a happy scream or a scared one. They both hung back in the kitchen for the inevitable questioning.

Within seconds, their kids were bounding down the stairs. Legolas was the first to get to them.

“Are you two together?” He asked hastily.

“Like, together, together?” Bain clarified once he got there.

Bard and Thranduil looked at each other, and somehow, they had the same thought.

“We’d like to be.” Thranduil said.

“We were going to ask for your approval.” Bard added.

Without another word, Legolas wrapped both fathers up in a big hug. Bard and Thranduil’s surprise diminished once the other three kids joined in, and from that moment on, they were all quite the happy troop.

It was no surprise to anyone that Bard and Thranduil became engaged only a year later. But as much as they loved each other, it wasn’t the easiest of courtships. With as much as they did actually have in common, there was the matter of their opposinglifestyles.

Bard didn’t like to think he was prideful, but the first few times Thranduil offered to help him financially, they hadn't been able to see eye to eye.

“If you want, you don’t have to work anymore.” Thranduil said. “I know how hard your life has been and I want nothing more then to take some of the weight off your shoulders for once. And I quite enjoyed spoiling your children by the way.”

“I appreciate the thought, babe, but I need to work.”

“But you don’t! You’re almost completely moved in with me, so you don’t have to pay rent for that dreadful apartment anymore. I easily make ten times more every week than you do in a month. You don’t technically need this job.”

“But I like this job.” Bard said, something he'd been struggling to explain to Thranduil for a few weeks now. “It’s more than the money for me, Thran, it’s the life. That building means something to me, I know every customer, I’m friends with everyone who works there.”

“Except for the owner, that terrible pig.” Thranduil said, scowling.

Bard had to concede, and then suddenly remembered the news he'd come home with. He'd been so distracted with getting the kids home from school and making dinner that he'd almost forgotten.

“And the owner is threatening to close." He said.

"What? Really?"

"He’s been ranting about it for weeks now. I though it was just something he was threatening us with to work harder for less pay, but I saw the paperwork this morning. I can’t just abandon them now.” Bard held his head in his hands for a second, leaning his elbows on his knees and groaning. "I suppose I can stick it out until it closes, if it closes, then think about other options.” He looked up then.“I want to work, Thran, I’ll go mad if I don’t have some kind of purpose outside of this house. I can't just be your house husband."

"I'm sorry, Bard, I'm not asking you to be." Thranduil paused, taking in Bard’s distress and calculating some figures in his head. “What if I make an offer?”

Thranduil was sitting in his chair, legs crossed and hands folded, looking like the business man he was at work when Bard looked up at him with questioning eyes.

“What?”

“What if buy it, and I give the ownership to you." Thranduil's expression changed then, looking less business-like and more future-husband-like. "Would you like that?”

Bard couldn't speak for a moment, he could only stare at the man he loved in bewilderment. “You would do that for me?”

Thranduil gave a short nod. “It sounds like the best option to me. You know I have the means.”

Bard was somehow both flattered and annoyed. He spoke again without really thinking. “Yes, but to what end? Aren't you ashamed of me?”

This took Thranduil by surprise. “What? Why would you think that?” When Bard didn't answer right away, the blonde man stood from his seat to sit next to the brunette on the couch. Thranduil reached out, placing a warm hand on his fiance's back, pleading with his eyes for Bard to explain, which he did.

"You're marrying a middle aged man whose worked as a waiter for twenty years. I guess I thought that you'd rather have me not working at all then working at a dingy restaurant.”

"Bard, I fell in love with you in that dingy restaurant." Thranduil said, bringing a small smile to both of their faces. "I didn't mean to make you feel that way. You've been working yourself ragged all your life, I just want you to know that you don't have to anymore."

One of Bard's hands went to rest on Thranduil's knee. “And how do you think I feel about you working so hard? You’re barely home when you should be.”

Thranduil sighed. he had been working long hours, only because there were certain mergers being made and the entire office was working overtime, he felt he should too. “Seems we have some things to work out, then."

"Yeah." Bard agreed. "But we will work them out."

By the end of that year, Bard was married, and the owner of a fully renovated and expanded hometown diner.

Bard and Thranduil were still quite different, but they made it work.


	3. Backstory Time: Bilbo and Thorin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilbo and Thoirn's separate backstories, leading up to their meeting at Stone Street Diner. 
> 
> Also, shy Thorin is best Thorin

Bilbo Baggins was an only child of older parents, so more often than not, his time socializing was spent with adults rather then with other children. For a brief period in his childhood, he would draw pictures of fantastical creatures and tell stories about elves hidden in the wood, but that kind of dreaming was lost to him after some time. As a young adult, he grew to enjoy his solitude as well as his reality; it was nice to live in a small village, it was enough.

In his adult life, he never travelled, never had too many friends at a time, and never yearned for more than his life as the newspaper editor in Hobbiton. Not much happened there, but the townsfolk liked to be informed of the local business and general goings on, not to mention that there were plenty of gossip columns and editorials to keep them entertained. 

It had never occurred to Bilbo that anything else might interest him, career-wise. That is, however, before Gandalf showed up in his office one morning. Bilbo looked back on it with fondness, though he had been quite confused at the time.

 

_An older man simply walked into Bilbo's office without an appointment, completely ignoring Bilbo's poor intern by shutting the door on him. The man stood with his cane in the middle of the room and looked around with great scrutiny, as if he were judging Bilbo's character based on what few certificates, books, and trinkets were lying around the pristinely organized office._

_"Um, can I help you?" Bilbo asked. He had been mid-sentence in his proofreading. The two sat in silence for a good minute then, and Bilbo was beginning to think that the old goat was lost, or senile, or both._

_"Yes, you can, Mr. Baggins. You might remember me from years ago, your parents were dear friends of mine. I am Gandalf Gray."_

_"Gandalf..." Bilbo thought for a second before realizing. "Ah! Yes, I remember now! The, uh, international...traveling…author? Journalist? My, it's been a long time since we last met!” Bilbo then stood from his seat and offered his hand._

_Gandalf smiled and shook Bilbo's hand warmly. "Indeed it has been some time. If you recall, in my youth, I was once a journalist for the army, writing columns on site for a number of titles. Currently, I’m planning a few projects that will take some years to finish, with quite a lot of travel involved. I'll be write about the repercussions of the last hundred years of war in Middle Earth.”_

_Bilbo nodded. “That sounds quite riveting. I’d love to read it.”_

_Gandalf continued. “You can do more than read it, my good man. I am in need of assistance. I knew you were in the business of editing and thought you might need some fresh air, outside of your village and into the wild.”_

_Bilbo was silent for a few beats. "You want me to...edit your work, on the road? And why can't I do that from here?"_

_"Because I don't work with computers." Gandalf said a little curtly. "Especially not on the road, we'll be far away from most cell phone signals, let alone wireless internet."_

_"Right..." Bilbo said._ _“Well, I’m quite fine here, thank you. I’m sure there's someone...somewhere more than willing to partake in such an opportunity. You should try in Bree.”_

_“Yes, perhaps, but I think,” Gandalf persisted. “That it will be good for you.”_

_Bilbo heard the old man saying something under his breath and smirking to himself. Bilbo was a tad incensed by this, but by no means was he prepared to endure the next twenty-four hours of this man’s insistence._

 

That moment had been the first for Bilbo's very unexpected journey. Gandalf managed to sway him eventually, and within days of the proposition, Bilbo was backpacking through the countryside. The traveling bit took them a full year, and all the while, Bilbo managed Gandalf's notes and contributed meaningful feedback, they interviewed hundreds of people, visited amazing places, and Bilbo had never been so inspired.

After they returned from travel, Bilbo went back home and to the newspaper, though it wasn’t easy. Suddenly, Hobbiton seemed small, no less of a home, but no longer was it the only place in the world he wanted to be.

He kept on as Gandalf’s editor, and even started writing a book of his own, detailing the journey from his own perspective. He eventually quit the newspaper all together to focus on his book. Once it was published, it became such a success that it changed the course of his life almost overnight. Bilbo suddenly had fans who wrote to him asking about his travels, asking about his life. Overwhelmed by the response, he started a blog and wrote public responses to nearly every question he was asked. Eventually, it spun off into a lifestyle blog.

Among the regular subscribers of this blog was a man named Thorin Durin, CEO of Oakenshield and Co.

Thorin's family history was no secret, as Durin was a household name. His family used to be the owners of The Durin Bank, a staple in the banking world for decades. Thorin had been next in line to take over, but when he was eighteen, his grandfather, Thror, had been caught embezzling. Their closest rival, a company run by a terror named Drake Smaug, had swept the floor from under them overnight because of their tarnished reputation. They were out of business immediately, with no hope of regaining their empire.After filing for bankruptcy, Thror and Thrain decided not to move forward in a new venture, staying completely out of the game.

Ten years after Durin Bank closed, however, Thorin and his friends formed their own company. Although they were humbler than their predecessor, they were honest and good at their jobs. Just under twenty years later, they'd climbed the corporate latter and grown immensely, enough to make Thorin Durin — or as everyone called him, Oakenshield — one of the most business savvy, wealthy, and important CEO's living today.

And over the last few years, he had been loyally following Bilbo Baggins' blog.

Thorin's sister, Dis, had recommended the book titled _The Battle for Middle Earth_ By Gandalf Gray. Gandalf was an old family friend Thorin had never met, so he read the book and discovered the witty footnotes of a certain Bilbo Baggins. Thorin immediately found Bilbo's book _There and Back Again_ , and was enthralled. Bilbo's personal story had eventually made its way to Thorin via the blog.

So here he was, one of the most important CEO’s alive, lying in bed, in his pajamas, with his laptop open, reading the latest update detailing proper table settings sometime after midnight.

"Uncle?" Came a voice from just outside Thorin's door.

Thorin blinked up at the time in the upper right hand corner of his laptop screen, seeing that it was 12:50p.m.

"Come in, Fili."

Thorin glanced up to see his eldest nephew ease open the door.

Fili was only thirteen, and his younger brother, Kili, was almost eleven. Thorin was sure at this point in his life that he wasn't going to have any children of his own, so had named his nephews as his heirs, making Fili next in line to inherit the company. Thorin had lived with them and his sister, Dis, since the death of her husband to help them cope, but had never thought to leave. It was better than living alone, anyway.

Fili came up to him trying to look neutral, but Thorin could tell he was restless.

“I could have been sleeping, you know.” Thorin said.

“I know you don’t go to bed until at least one in the morning.“ Fili said. “You wait for that blogger you have a secret crush on to post every night before you even think of going to bed.”

“I do not.” Thorin said, closing his laptop and trying not to look amused. Fili caught him, however.

“That’s a really bad habit, by the way, with your work schedule.”

“And you have the authority to tell me this, how? You’re not in bed yourself.”

Fili crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels. “I couldn't sleep. I'm nervous."

"About school?" Thorin guessed, placing his laptop on the night stand and rubbing at his own eyes.

Fili nodded. He was being transferred to a private junior high school. His mother had insisted that he and Kili start out their education in public school so that they could be in classes with their friends from their neighborhood, while Thorin insisted they move up to private school for junior high. They could easily afford it, but he also wasn't a fan of the public school system. 

"I hear great things about this school." Thorin said. "You'll be fine once you get there, I know you. A new school won’t be a challenge for long, and you make friends easily.”

Fili sighed, then nodded. “Still, I can't sleep thinking about it. I'll miss Kili, too.” He smirked. “Who will I prank my teachers with, and who will I blame it on?”

Thorin chuckled, patting the boy’s arm. “You'll be fine. Now try and get some rest. And I don't mean reading with a flashlight in the closet."

Fili turned to leave. “I haven't done that in years, I just read on my phone under a blanket."

“Well, don't do that either."

“No promises.” Fili said, walking out and shutting the door behind him.

...

The next day was a big one for both uncle and nephew, unbeknown entirely to the uncle. After Fili’s successful first day of school, he and some new friends had decided to go to Stone Street Diner for a few slices of their famous apple pie. Fili texted both Dis and Thorin that he wouldn’t be on the bus home because of this, so Thorin decided that he would pick Fili up after work since his office was relatively close.

That being said, this did not deter Thorin from getting lost. Twice.

When he finally made it to Stone Street Diner, there was a bit of a crowd. And oddly enough, before he could find Fili and his friends, he found himself being hailed by one of his less cooperative business associates, Thranduil Doriath. Not only was the man dressed down, something Thorin had never seen, but he was at a table with four kids.

 _Does Thranduil have four kids?_ Thorin asked himself as he walked to their table. 

“Thorin, what brings you here?” Thranduil asked, pushing his sunglasses down slightly.

“I could ask you the same thing." Thorin replied, a little smug. "I’m picking up my nephew. He was worried about making friends at his new school today, but I see he had nothing to worry about.”

“Teenagers are resilient." Thranduil said, introducing his kids to Thorin. "Oakenshield, this is my brood, Sigrid, Legolas, Bain, and TIlda."

The kids either waved to him or ignored him, enthralled in either their phones or their food. 

"And to answer your question," Thranduil continued. "I own this restaurant.”

“Ah, I see.It’s an...interesting investment." Thorin said, trying not to laugh as he looked around. It was a rather nice place, dark with warm lighting by the tables, interesting plants everywhere you looked. 

Thranduil shrugged. “I like the food, and the staff’s not bad.”

The kids laughed at that. Just then, Thranduil hailed someone else to their table, and in another moment, someone else came around. Thorin was trying to figure out how to bow out gracefully until he saw exactly who was now standing next to him.

“Bilbo, isn’t it?” Thranduil asked, holding out his hand. “Pleased to meet you. Bard takes away my bluetooth every time I come here because of you.”

“I applaud him.” Bilbo said, laughing and shaking the man’s hand.

“Bilbo Baggins?” Thorin heard himself say. As the shorter man turned his gaze on his, Thorin almost froze, but he managed. “The writer?”

Bilbo looked only a little surprised, but mostly pleased. “Yes, you’ve heard of me?”

“Um, I’ve read your book, and I’ve seen your blog.”

“Well isn’t that surprising.” Thranduil said, smirking. “I didn’t know you could read, Oakenshield.”

“Well, excuse me if your financial proposals aren’t as riveting as Mr. Baggins’ journals.”

The kids tried not to laugh there, but were met by one of Thranduil’s playful glares anyway.

“Well, um,” Thorin stammered. “I have to find my nephew. We have…somewhere to be.”

And so he left rather ungracefully in no particular direction. He ended up exiting the restaurant and texting Fili to meet him outside. He waited for a few minutes before he saw Bilbo stepping out with a to-go box. The writer approached him easily.

“Hey, there." Bilbo said with a polite smile. "I know this is odd, but could I give you a signed copy of my book? I have a slew of them in my car that I'm trying to get rid of.”

Thorin found himself smiling and nodding, and in another few moments, he was gifted with a new copy of a book he already owned. He rather numbly waved goodbye to a stranger that he knew quite well, and watched as he drove off.

Thorin was absolutely beside himself when he got home and opened the book to find Bilbo’s signature, message, and phone number.


	4. Moving Forward: The Doriath-Bowmans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family grows closer as they spend more time together and truths come out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very much centered around Legolas. Later chapters will hopefully explore other perspectives. 
> 
> Also, this is the start of some heavy ANGST. Mentions of hate crimes are riddled at the end of this chapter. I have a lot of feelings when it comes to protecting queer youth, so here they are, enjoy

Because Thranduil had lived a solitary life, so had Legolas.

The teenager didn’t remember his mother, but in an oddly comforting way, he imagined that having Bard in his life was just as good. Bard was a natural nurturer, which Legolas realized was something his own father didn’t all together lack, but wasn't the best with. Legolas and Thranduil had gotten used to their rather demure routine and lifestyle, but with the Bowmans, there seemed to be new life surging through the old family house.

While Bard and Thranduil were dating, it became abundantly clear to Legolas just how much love Bard had to give. Legolas loved to see his father so happy, and Bard quickly became a fixture in his own life, a second father figure long before Bard had proposed to Thranduil. 

On the other side of this, Legolas rather enjoyed seeing his father open up to the Bowman kids. It was heartwarming to see his solitary father embrace new life with open arms. 

Even though Thranduil wasn’t exactly the nurturer, he did love providing for a big family, as it gave him a special kind of pride. To Thranduil's own delight, he readily spoiled the Bowman kids with things that Bard would have hesitated to buy for them. They hardly asked for anything, but Thranduil made sure they were taken care of with school supplies, clothes, shoes, cell phones, laptops, everything they needed to feel comfortable and prepared for school and life in general. 

Legolas had only ever had his father. Now he supposed he would have two, and three siblings.

... 

Within a year of their first meeting, Bard and Thranduil were married. To anyone else, it would've seemed sudden, but to the family, it was perfect. They'd had a small, summer wedding, only inviting a few family members and friends. Tilda had been the flower girl, Bain had been in charge of the rings, and Sigrid and Legolas had stood by their respective fathers as they made their vows. Instead of going on a honeymoon, they took the kids on vacation and enjoyed a few beaches along the coast as a family.

Over that summer, Stone Street had gotten incredibly popular after the renovation.

 _"Thank the restaurant gods._ " Bard had said. "I've never seen this place so packed! In twenty plus years, business has never been like this!"

"You can thank my marketing team." Thranduil replied. "And me, for my interior decorating skills."

"I have thanked the marketing team. They've all been paid, and I made them all pie." Bard said, smiling at Thranduil's jealous expression. "You're the one on a diet, not me or your marketing team."

 

"Then what do I get as a 'thank you?'" Thranduil teased, reaching out to straighten his husband's collar. 

"I'll show you when we get home tonight." Bard smirked, stifling a laugh when Thranduil nearly fell over in feined dramatics. 

Later, in a decision that Thranduil joked was steeped in nepotism, Bard hired both Bain and Legolas once they needed more waiting staff. Both of them were seventeen and had work licenses. Neither needed the money per say, but Bard thought it would be a good way for them to learn how to handle their finances and to do an honest day’s work. They turned out to be good at adapting to the work, Bain a bit faster than Legolas at first. Because of this, they had eventually made a game into it, seeing who could earn more tips, who could clean a table faster, who could make the customers laugh the most, etc.

After summer, with the new school year approaching, Sigrid was moving out to live with a few friends closer to campus, and Bain was being transferred to Woodland Private High, where Legolas went. It was only a ten minute drive from where they lived, and Legolas had his own car, which he would be sharing once Bain got his license.

The first day of school brought on anxiety for both boys.

...

Legolas showed Bain how their lockers worked and where his first class was, only separating when the bell rang. When Legolas made it to his own home room, and old friend, Boromir, sat next to him.

“Hey, Legs. Who’s that new kid you were with earlier?”

“He’s my step-brother. His family moved here from Laketown, so I was showing him around.”

Boromir looked surprised. “Laketown? That dump?”

Legolas scowled at his friend. “Hey, just be nice to him, ok? He doesn’t know anyone but me here.”

The other boy clicked his tongue, but didn’t argue. “I didn’t even know your dad remarried. What’s that like, must have happened recently, huh?”

Legolas shrugged. “Just before this summer, and I like it a lot, actually. It’s nice not just being me and ada. You have a brother, you know what it’s like, but I never did.”

Boromir nodded. “What about your step-mom? How is that?”

Leoglas hesitated. The school was rather notorious for bullying queer kids, and although Boromir was relatively nice, he could also be rather loud mouthed and obnoxious. He was also on the football team, and they were notorious for hazing. What if word got out? What would they do to Bain if they knew that there fathers were married? He might be more afraid for himself if Bain wasn’t new here, but he was, and that made him a bigger target. Legolas felt a little sick thinking about the things he’d seen; about the things he tried to forget…

“It’s fine.” Legolas, feeling the twist in his gut. The class started shortly, but all he could do was think about how scared he’d been in his freshman year, and how scared he still was now.

...

Over dinner, the whole family usually talked about their day. Bard would talk about the restaurant, Thranduil would talk of anything interesting that was happening at the company, Sigrid always had a lot to say about college now that she’d transferred out of community and into a state college. Bain talked about what he liked and disliked about his new school, as did Tilda. Legolas tried to eat in silence, hoping beyond hope that no one would notice that he hadn’t shared.

“Legolas, is something wrong?” Thranduil eventually said.

Legolas looked up, trying his best to look neutral.

“You look a little pale, are you feeling ok?” Bard asked after getting a good look at him from across the table.

Legolas saw everyone staring at him and took a deep breath. he had to say something. “…Ada, do you remember what happened to Lindir my freshman year? Before his junior prom?”

“Yes.” Thranduil said, a little gravely. “When he was jumped and sent to the hospital with a concussion and a broken arm?”

“Yes.” Legolas was quiet, remembering it all too well.

“Did someone hurt you?” Bard asked, very worried, looking ready to defend his children from an invisible threat.

“No, no, nothing happened.” Legolas reassured. “But, Lindir was jumped because someone outed him as gay. So, when someone asked me today who Bain was, and I told them that he was my step-brother, they started asking me questions. They asked if I liked my step-mother and…I didn’t correct them. I didn’t want anyone to have a reason to mess with him, I honestly don’t know who to trust there.”

Bard and Thranduil locked eyes, both parents surprised and hurt knowing that Legolas had been worried about this all day.

“You think they’d make fun of me because of Da and Ada?” Bain asked.

Legolas looked over to his step-brother. “Maybe. I’m not sure, but I didn’t want to take any chances. But I don’t like it, not being honest.”

Bard saw something in Legolas then that confirmed something for him. An extra layer of anguish that the teenager was keeping from them, to protect himself, Bard now understood.

“Legolas, you meant well. Thank you for thinking of Bain’s safety.” Bard said. “But, there may be something else that's bothering you.”

Legolas looked up at his step-father with wide eyes.

“Am I wrong?” Bard continued carefully.

Legolas stared into Bard’s caring gaze, knowing now that Bard saw right through him. He couldn’t hold back his tears.

Thranduil was shocked, not exactly knowing where Bard was gong with this. Before either of the adults could move, Tilda was out of her seat and hugging her step-brother, and he buried his face into her hair. Bain and Sigrid desperately wanted to know what was happening, but didn’t speak to rush anyone.

Thranduil looked at Bard, but his husband was focused on Legolas.

“I know you’re scared.” Bard said. “I used to be too, at your age, especially after knowing how violent people can be against people like us.” Bard looked at his husband again, and Thranduil suddenly understood.

“Greenleaf.” Thranduil said, getting up from his chair and kneeling by Legolas and Tilda. He cupped his son’s cheek, like back when he was a little boy. “I didn’t know.”

Legolas shook his head, wiping the tears from his eyes. “I didn’t want anyone to know that I’m gay. Not because I’m ashamed, just…just because I was afraid that if they knew…I was helpless when Lindir was attacked…And I wanted to tell you, especially when you and Bard were dating, but it’d been so long and I…I didn’t know how.”

“You will always be safe here.” Bard said. Legolas looked up at him. “You will never have to hide from us, we will always love you. Isn’t that right?”

All three of Bard's kids agreed. Thranduil wrapped both Tilda and Legolas in his arms and just held them for a few minutes.

Later that night, everyone went to bed, but not before they all made their rounds of hugging and reassuring each other that no matter what, they all would support each other.

“If anyone ever bothers you at school, you tell me.” Bain said, holding onto his step-brother tightly.

“The same goes for you.” Legolas said. Bain leaned back only to be brought back in again when Thranduil pulled them both in. Bain smiled up at his step-father before leaving for his room.

“Are you going to be Ok tonight?” Thranduil asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Legolas said. “I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”

“You never need to feel sorry for that. Do you know how long it took me to come out as bi to my father?"

“No, how long?”

“Well, I think I was eighteen when my military school caught me and another boy kissing in a bathroom stall. As mad as he was about it, he got me off the hook. Don't ask me how, I still don't know."

Legolas laughed. That sounded exactly like something his father would do. “But still, you’re queer, I shouldn’t have been so scared to tell you, you always would have accepted me.”

“True, but fear is a strange thing to control. Please don’t beat yourself up about it.”

Legolas nodded, and then yawned.

“I love you.” Thranduil said to his son, kissing his forehead and letting him go into his room. Thranduil wet to his room wait for Bard, who was in Tilda’s room, tucking her in.

“Da, are Legolas and Bain not safe at their school?” Tilda asked, completely serious.

Bard’s heart broke hearing his daughter say that, but he couldn’t lie to her.

“What happened to Legolas’ friend was years ago, but there is always a chance that violence can break out, just about anywhere. Hate crimes are terrible things done by ignorant people. But as long as Thranduil and I are here, we will do everything in our power to make the world safe for all of you. At the very least, we’ll do our best to protect you.”

“Should Legolas not come out at school? Or tell anyone about you and Ada? Would that make him safer?”

“As for Thranduil and I, people are going to find out sooner or later, especially if we become involved with the PTA like we want to. When it comes to himself, Legolas has to choose. You heard him tonight, he doesn’t like being dishonest. If that means he wants to come out to his friends, then he might, and it might make him feel better. If not, then it doesn’t matter. What matters right now is that he can come home to a loving family.”

“At least I can help with that.” Tilda said.

“You sure can, sweetheart.”

Later, Bard and Thranduil lied awake in bed, talking for quite some time.

“I think with all thats happening, we might have to petition the school board.” Bard said.

They were both lying on their sides, facing each other, and Thranduil had one of Bard's hand encased in both of his. “After the incident with Lindir, a few of the parents got together to do just that. I was very busy at the time…I regret not making time for it.”

“We can make up for that together. Do you know who those parents were?”

“I’ll email them in the morning.”

Bard smiled at that. “We need to do more than just try to prevent bullying. We should talk to someone who knows more about this eventually, but we should demand gender neutral bathrooms, and promote awareness for identities all over the spectrum. We need to protect our queer kids, even if they’re not all ours." Bard freed his hand so that he could move closer to Thranduil and embrace him, lying with his head against the blonde's chest. "I remember being scared to come out.”

“I do too.” Thranduil said, running his hands through Bard's hair. “We can make it better for them."


	5. Moving Forward: The Durins and Baggins'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first date + some

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short, and that it took me so long, the Bilbo/Thorin chapters need more plot.

A few weeks had gone by before Thorin told Dis that he hadn't contacted the man who gave him his number in a signed copy of a very famous book. And Dis was just about ready to smack some sense into her brother.

They were sitting in the living room, Thorin having been sitting and reading before came in and Dis interrupted him by asking about his 'little celebrity crush.'

“He obviously wants to see you again.” She said. “Just give him a call, it’s not like you don’t know how, you must make a thousand calls a day.”

“That’s for work, this is for something I haven’t done since…high school?” Thorin honestly hadn’t thought about dating since his high school years, which seemed like centuries ago now. He was in his forties, asexual and had been questioning just how important romance was in his life, since it had never been important. He was perfectly content with being single, but after actually meeting Bilbo Baggins, the man he’d been somewhat infatuated with for almost a year now? He would be an idiot if he passed this up. Which was precisely the thing his sister was calling him now.

“I know this isn't exactly your scene, but I know you want to try.” Dis said. "I wouldn't prod if I didn't think you wanted to call him."

Thorin nodded, knowing it to be true. He glanced to the book on the shelf just next to his chair, which he'd placed right next to the copy he already owned.

“I’ll call him. Later. When you’re not breathing down my neck.”

“Fine.” Dis said, hands raised. “But you _will_ tell me everything.”

Thorin rolled his eyes. “What detail of my life do you not already know?”

Dis simply snickered. Just then, the boys came bounding into the kitchen for a snack. Kili popped up over the counter, resting on his elbows and eating a cereal bar.

"What are you two squawking about?" He said, giggling to himself.

"I'm dissecting your uncle's love life." Dis said matter-of-factly, earning a decent glare from her brother.

At that, both boys shot up from the kitchen to the living room, noisily asking Thorin whether or not he had a boyfriend, and somehow at the same time teasing him about it. Thorin took the abuse while trying not to smile. Even with the boys teasing him, he did like the sound of having a boyfriend.

Later that day, Thorin did end up calling Bilbo, right when he knew the man would be busy writing his daily post. Part of him hoped that Bilbo would be too busy writing to pick up, while the other part wondered if picking up a call from an unknown number would spark Bilbo’s interest. He wondered if Bilbo even remembered him, the writer had given Thorin his number nearly a week ago.

Thorin inhaled sharply when he heard the other end of the line pick up.

“Hello?” Bilbo asked, sounding wide awake.

“Hi.” Thorin said. “It’s, um, Thorin, we met at a diner and you gave me your number so I…uh…”

“Oh, yes! I was worried you’d forgotten about me.” Bilbo said.

“Well, uh, that would be difficult.” Thorin smiled as he heard Bilbo laugh. 

“So, I didn’t have your full name, so I couldn’t google search you or even Facebook stalk you. I was trying to figure out what you did for a living, you looked so serious.”

Thorin then explained that he was CEO of a multi million dollar company and Bilbo nearly spat his tea. They talked long into the night, about nothing in particular, just really getting to know each other, and finding that they both very much wanted to know each other better. Bilbo eventually folded for the night, saying that he would post something on his blog in the morning, and Thorin was only partially reluctant to end the call. Bilbo asked if he texted and Thorin said yes, even though he wasn’t the best at it. There was a newfangled messaging system on his phone and he hadn’t quite figured them all out yet. He would have to ask Fili for help.

Text savvy or not, Bilbo texted him all throughout the next day. He asked if they wanted to meet half way for a date, seeing as they lived some miles away from each other. Thorin agreed, not thinking the distance was too bad, and even if it was farther, he wouldn't mind a bit.

Their first date was at a pub, which was something Thorin didn’t think Bilbo would be into, but it was just what the occasion needed, an informal night, a few beers and good burgers. Bilbo wanted to know more about him, and Thorin found it hard to talk about himself. He’d never been entirely good at it, others usually had that covered anyhow.

“Well, I had a wonderful time.” Bilbo said when they walked out into the parking lot, breathing in cold night air. “I’d like to do this again, sometime. I’ll be going to Dale more often now that I’m writing another book, maybe we can go to Stone Street for pie.”

“You certainly like your desserts.” Thorin said, just having witnessed the writer practically inhale a piece of chocolate cake.

“Only when it’s done right.” Bilbo laughed. “I take my food very seriously. You should see my pantry, I’m stocked for an army.”

“I’ll have to invite my army over, then.” Thorin grinned. “My associates and I are known as Oakenshield’s company. Don’t ask me why.”

Bilbo laughed and they sat quietly for a moment, just enjoying each other's company. After they split their check and walked out of the pub to their respective cars, Bilbo broke the ice again.

“Just so I get this right, are we going about this as…friends, or something different?” Before Thorin could manage a reply out of his slight sputtering, Bilbo added, "Because I'd like to be something other than just a friend."

With that, Thorin recomposed himself and gave a strong nod. “I’d like that, very much. But before you say anything, I’d like you to know…” He trailed off, not possessing the words he required to explain his sexuality. He'd never had to, not to anyone but himself, so he wasn't at all prepared for this.

After a series of stops and starts, Bilbo looked all too amused and stopped with a wave of his hand. “Hold on, are you giving me the talk?”

Thorin didn’t answer, he could only open his mouth to try and speak, again with very little success. Bilbo smiled, thinking of Thorin to be all too endearing.

“Am I right in assuming that you don’t go after people for sex? You don’t seem like the type.” Bilbo said, making Thorin blush despite the cold.

“I’m ace, and not extremely experienced.” Thorin finally said. "Most people either don't know what asexuality is, or have had different experiences with different people, or think I'm crazy. You're right, sex isn't a motivation for me, I hope that's not a deal breaker."

Bilbo looked like he couldn't be more pleased when he replied. "Well, I think you’re a dish, but I’ll get over it. What I really need to know is whether a goodbye kiss is out of the question?”

Thorin stared for a moment, and then just shook his head, mumbling _not a problem_ before taking his hands out of his pockets and licking his lips before Bilbo grabbed his shoulders and reeled him in. He was a good few inches taller then the writer, so he leant down and Bilbo leaned up the rest of the way until their lips met in a sickeningly sweet touch.

Bilbo pulled away with a slightly smug look on his face. “Until next time, Thorin. I'll call you.”

"Good idea." Thorin said, vaguely aware that he was even standing.

Thorin got home late night night, but that didn't stop his sister from making coffee at their regular time, knowing that the smell alone would get him out of bed. She wanted every detail, and the boys wanted to know exactly when they were going to meet this new boyfriend. Thorin groaned, thinking of what his friends would do if they learned about his new entanglements. Looking at his phone, he realized that Dis must have already informed them, especially if he was receiving a text from Dwalin this early in the morning reading "What is his name, I need to do a background check."

Despite his friends being insistent they meet Bilbo, Thorin put them off for weeks. Bilbo did live at least two hours away, so Thorin wasn't lying when he said it wold be hard to schedule. It was a few months into their courtship that Bilbo said he was coming to Dale again for a meeting, and Thorin desperately tried to keep it to himself so that he didn't have to schedule an entire party when all he wanted was a date.

But Dis, being the meddling little sister she always had been, managed to devise a plan. Dis had managed to find Bilbo online and had befriended him rather quickly, so getting him to play along with her plan to surprise Thorin went very well indeed.

The day Bilbo and Thorin met in Dale, Dis had been planning an office party at Oakenshield and Co., encouraging the guys to be as raucous as ever. When Thorin asked what the occasion was, she simply said that the company was in need of some moral boosting activities. He shrugged it off as nothing and slinked into his office like always during these kinds of things, knowing that Dwalin or somebody would try and get him to join later on.

Little did he know that Dis had invited Bilbo, and that he'd stayed in Dale after they parted ways after their date earlier.

The party was just as loud as usual, and it wasn't exactly Bilbo's scene, but he enjoyed himself regardless, meeting all of Thorin's close associates and trusted business partners.

"You sure you don't want to join us?" Dwalin asked Thorin in his office. He'd brought him a drink and placed it over the files Thorin was looking over.

Thorin gave his friends a playful glare before taking the red cup and placing it a little to the left, as to not stain the documents. "I'm quite happy here, thank you."

"Suit yourself." Dwalin said, backing up to the door. "I'll send in someone else in a minute, I think he's going to be more persuasive then I am."

Dwalin left and Thorin rolled his eyes, going back to his work until he heard a gentle knock on his door a minute or so later. He didn't look up from his papers until that familiar snarky tone of voice.

"Hey, Thorin, you might want to get out here. They started stapling papers to the ceiling." Bilbo said, a giant smile on his face. He burst into laughter the moment Thorin looked up in surprise.

"Oh god." He groaned, his face in his hands. "I don't even care who convinced you to be here, now they'll know."

"Now they know what?" Bilbo said, still quite pleased with himself, taking the few steps closer to lean over Thorin's desk.

"They'll never let me live it down." Thorin said, looking up at his boyfriend and shaking his head in mock seriousness. "They'll know the moment I step out with you that I'm utterly infatuated. And they'll never let me hear the end of it. I'll never be respected again."

Bilbo held out his hand. "Well then, we better go show them how much you hate then, if you want to stay top dog around here."

"I'm not sure that's possible, Mr. Baggins." Thorin replied, taking the offered hand and pulling Bilbo around his desk. "How about we just stay here and let them wonder?"

Bilbo's eyes lit up. "I like that plan."

After a good ten minutes, the others suspected fowl play. A few brave members of the company were sent over to see what had happened to Bilbo-- which meant Ori and Dori, because they were the only ones not tripping over themselves at the moment. When they reached the slightly ajar office door, the two brothers peaked in and were beyond relieved to find them just sitting and talking.


	6. The Durins and Baggins'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frodo comes into the picture, and not because of something pleasant. Warning: mentioned character deaths.

As time went on, Bilbo and Thorin's courtship moved forward, somewhat like clockwork. They met half way for most of their dates, most often in Bree. Bilbo stayed in Dale longer whenever he went, and they would go to Stone Street for all dinner and pie. All had gone swimmingly, until now.

It was four in the morning when Thorin’s phone started vibrating like mad. He barely recognized the time and almost instinctively reached for the alarm clock at his bedside table. Noticing that the racket was indeed his phone, he took it and pressed the phone to his ear, still somewhat in a sleepy haze.

“ _Thorin_?”

“Bilbo?” Thorin said, eyes open.

“ _Yeah. Hey_.”

“Hey.” Thorin replied, sitting up straighter at the sound of Bilbo’s near panicked voice. “Is something wrong?”

“ _Yes._ ” Bilbo said without hesitation. “ _My cousins, well my cousin and her husband, they were killed in an accident_.”

“Shit.” Was Thorin’s immediate response, although he winced right after. “Sorry, that was inappropriate.”

“ _No, it’s perfectly appropriate, that’s what I said, at least. God, this is bad._ ”

Thorin didn't know what to say for a long moment. “...Were you very close?”

“ _Not entirely, although I will miss them, obviously, I’m sad, but -- I’m more concerned about their son._ ”

“Their son? So…Frodo, was it?” Thorin remembered talking about Frodo, Bilbo's thirteen year old nephew.

“ _Yes. I was told to wait until morning to go get him, but I’m fighting every fiber of my being to go there right now._ ”

“How long’s the drive?”

“ _Not long, a half hour, maybe. He’s with the neighbors, and he has to pack and, but…god, this is just all so sudden. I just needed to tell someone, I feel like I’m loosing my mind here_.”

“Very understandable." Thorin said, throwing off the covers and getting out of bed. "I’m willing to stay up if you need someone to vent to.”

“ _I shouldn’t keep you up._ ” Bilbo said, the noise int he background sounding like he was doing something in the kitchen.

“Well, I’m awake now, might as well stay that way." Thorin replied, going to the kitchen himself to make coffee. "Do you need anything? Because I’ll do anything, you don’t have to do this alone.”

“ _Thank you, but I think I have to, at least to get Frodo settled. Maybe we’ll drive up to Dale later this month, I’d really like to see you. I’ll have to wait and see." he sighed. "This is really going to hurt him for a while, isn't it_?”

“I know it will.” Thorin said, remembering how heartbroken Fili had been when his father passed.

...

About a month later, Bilbo and Frodo drove up to Dale for a long day out. Bilbo had done his best to make Frodo comfortable in Bag End, and for the most part, life had been quiet and peaceful like it always was there. Even with the storm cloud above Frodo's head, the boy had said he felt like home there. He went to a councillor now instead of school, and after a month of processing his feelings, Frodo was still quite depressed. Understandably so, Bilbo thought.

For the two hour drive, Bilbo let Frodo pick the music. He didn't want to seem too eager, but Bilbo let Frodo know that they would be visiting some lovely people and eating some delicious pie. Before they left, Bilbo had called both Thorin and Bard. Thorin would meet them at Stone Street Diner with Fili and Kili, and the Doriath-Bowmans was now appropriately briefed on the situation.

When they arrived, Bard greeted them at the door. He hugged Bilbo, then asked if Frodo wanted a hug as well. The boy shrugged before saying that he wouldn't mind one, so he received one of Bard’s best fatherly bear hugs. Bard seated them at Bilbo's regular booth, and soon, Thorin and the boys were there.

“Frodo, it’s good to finally meet you.” Thorin said, extending his hand. Frodo took it a little weakly, and Thorin smiled kindly. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“So have we.” Kili said. Kili was nearly the same age as Frodo, although a little younger and naturally a lot cheerier. He went to lean against the end of the booth and took out his phone. “Want to see the funniest thing I reblogged today?”

Frodo gave a small smile and nodded, giving into a few minutes of Kili scrolling through funny posts and videos. Bilbo didn't usually condone kids having cell phones, but he supposed that if Kili could make his nephew smile and laugh at whatever memes they were scrolling through, it wasn't a terrible idea.  

“I was promised the best pie in the world.” Frodo said when Bard came to take their order. “At least according to Uncle Bilbo. So is it true?”

“Well, if Bilbo _the world traveler_ says we have the best pie, then I’d take his word for it.” Bard said. “Is that just one slice of apple pie, or are we going all around?”

“Can I have dessert for dinner, too?” Kili said, who was sitting in the middle of the booth, both Frodo and Fili on either side of him.

“We’re having dinner at our house later, so you can get dessert if you want.” Thorin said. “Just one.”

The obnoxiously disappointed noise that Kili then blurted made Frodo laugh out loud, to Bilbo’s relief.

“Bard, I’d invite your family to dinner if I didn’t think our significant others were going to start a war.” Bilbo said to their host.

“And I completely understand." Bard said. "Plus, six more guests? That would be a lot to handle last minute.”

“You have four kids?” Frodo asked. At Bard’s confirmation, he just shook his head. “I can’t even imagine living with more than two people at once. But I always wanted siblings.”

“It’s alright, I guess, once you get past the smell.” Fili said, earning a flick to his ear curtesy of his little brother. If it hadn’t been for the incoming order of pie, the boys might have started rough housing right on the restaurant floor. After everyone was finished and more than content, they said goodbye to Bard and left for The Durins house in Erebor. 

...

Erebor was the neighboring city from Dale, so it didn't take long to arrive. Thorin went straight to the kitchen to help Dis finish preparing dinner, and all went well during their meal. After dinner, Bilbo, Thorin and Dis congregated in the living room drinking tea while the boys showed Frodo to their rooms.

“How is he?” Dis asked. “It looks like he’s doing well.”

“He is, miraculously.” Bilbo said, clearly impressed. “Your boys have everything to do with it. Kili just opened his mouth, and suddenly, it’s like the first time he’s smiled in weeks.”

“He has that effect on most everyone.” Thorin said. “Glad it’s going to some good use.”

“Maybe we could arrange some sleepovers.” Dis suggested. “I’d be glad to have him over for the weekend, anytime.”

“I’ll ask him, that sounds lovely.” Bilbo said. "Thank you."

"And how are you holding up?" Thorin asked Bilbo. "You've never had to take care of a child before. Well, I suppose he's nearly a teenager at twelve. I was wondering how you were doing with all this."

Bilbo sighed and looked around the room before he found the words. "It's a learning curve, yes, but he's been so quiet lately that it hasn't been anything strenuous on my part, except for maybe the first few days. Did you tell Dis about when I picked him up?"

Thorin nodded and Dis replied. "You stayed there, didn't you?"

Bilbo sighed. "I couldn't move him so fast, and he'd all but locked himself in his room for the first few hours. I'm still going through paperwork for the will, the house, everything...The least I can do on any given day is make sure he's eaten something, take him to counseling, things like that. Once everything goes back to normal and he goes back to school and starts seeing friends, that might be when I need more help."

Thorin gave warm smile and reached his hand to rest on Bilbo's knee. "We'll be here for you, when you need us."

Bilbo rested a hand on Thorin's. "Thank you, love."

...

As the adults made plans, the kids were in the basement exploring. Fili and Kili had already shown Frodo to their rooms, but most of their entertainment was in the basement; video games, art supplies, footballs and portable goal posts, archery and fencing equipment, an array of musical string instruments, etc.

“These are all our board games, we play them at least a few times a week with Mom and Uncle Thorin.” Kili said. "I'm really good at Mastermind and Fili wins every time we play Monopoly, even when we play with the grown ups."

Frodo marveled at the amount of stuff they had. He'd always lived in a small town in a small house, never having more then he could fit in his small room. Walking along the shelves of movies and games and things, he came across some pictures hanging on the walls.

“Who's this?” Frodo asked, recognizing Dis and Thorin in the pictures, but not the other man holding a child.

“That’s our dad.” Fili said, carefully neutral. “He died when I was little, and Kili was too young to remember him.”

Frodo nodded, looking at the photo again and recognizing Fili as the young child in his father's arms.

“I know how it feels, to suddenly loose someone so close to you.” Fili said. “If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here. Do you have a phone?”

Frodo nodded again and took a flip phone from his pocket, handing it to Fili. The older boy typed in his name and number and handed it back.

“You can have mine too!” Kili said. “I'll text you the details for my twelfth birthday party, it's in two weeks. You totally have to come!”

"Ok." Frodo said, smiling to himself.

Not too long after, Bilbo and Frodo were on their way home. Before leaving, Kili and Dis had agreed that his birthday party should be a sleepover party, so now Bilbo had an event on his calendar just for Frodo, who looked very happy to be invited.

"Did you have a good time?" Bilbo asked.

"Yeah, actually." Frodo replied. "I'm glad I made some new friends today."

Bilbo glanced away from the road and to his nephew. "So am I."

"Maybe tomorrow I can see what Samwise is doing. He's your neighbor's son. He told me he'd show me his garden. And then Pippin said that he and Merry would take me fishing in the lake if I wanted. I didn't feel like it before, but it sounds kind of fun now."

Bilbo smiled to himself, only a little sadly, and kept driving. Maybe the worst was behind them, and maybe he wasn't doing so bad as a new guardian.

...

That night, Fili was alone in his room, looking through a photo album he'd tucked away in his book shelf. He thought about his dad most days, but on days like this, it was hard not to miss him. Of course his mother was amazing, and Thorin was always around, but it still hurt sometimes, especially because he'd never gotten to know his father as an adult. Fili always wondered what his father would think of him now.

But then again, he wondered what Dis and Thorin would think of him if he told them about his favorite hobby.

Fili looked up from where he was lying in bed to see his makeshift vanity. He'd taken an old mirror from the basement, cleaned it up, and hung it on the wall next to his writing desk. He was able to pull his rolling chair up to it and place the few cosmetics he owned on his desk while he experimented with them. They were usually hidden in the bottom drawer, and he never went out in makeup, he only practiced at night with the door locked.

He didn't like being afraid of what people might think of him, but he couldn't see his classmates understanding, and he didn't know about him family, so he kept it to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Either the next chapter or the chapter after next will talk more about Fili, I'm just getting started :)


	7. The Doriath-Bowmans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more explanation for Thranduil's scars, and the beginning of Legolas/Fili
> 
> aka, the gayest chapter so far

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be busy soon, so I'm writing a few chapters today while I have the motivation :D

In the middle of the night, Thranduil woke with a start. With his heart pounding against his chest, he breathed deeply for a few minutes in order to calm his racing mind and body. Looking to his right, Thranduil saw his husband still sound asleep.

 _Good_ , he thought, _I can get away with self medication tonight_. Very quietly, he slipped from bed and left their room, going downstairs and to the kitchen.

Bard, half awake and fully aware of his husband's movements, saw the light flood into the hallway from the kitchen. He sighed, rolling over and wondering if he should get up. Thranduil was still haunted by phantoms of the war, and Bard had not yet figured out how to chase them away. Not for good, anyway. Perhaps he may never be able to, but he could at least try.

Bard hadn’t known about Thranduil’s frequent nightmares until the prospect of sleeping together throughout the night had become a possibility, which hadn't been until they started staying with each other over the weekends. While they'd been dating, the Bowman family would all come home from school or work, pack their bags for the weekend, and sleep over at the Doriath house. 

It was around that time when Thranduil first told Bard about his time in the war. He'd eased into the discussion, but hadn't immediately told Bard about every aspect of his PTSD. That and the scarring all along his body were things he still felt insecure about, so they'd yet to breech the subject fully by that point in their relationship. When their first night together came, however, he found that he was determined to talk it out.

 

_“War has left many marks on me, both mentally and physically.” Thranduil had explained. “I have more scars then just my eye.”_

_Bard didn't make a move, just stayed sitting on the bed with his hands in his lap. “Are you…uncomfortable with this? Us sleeping together?”_

_“...I don’t want to be." Thranduil said, a little meekly. Hearing himself, he took a deep breath. "I’m not, it’s just been a long time since…”_

_“Yeah. For me too.” Bard finished, looking up at Thranduil with genuine compassion in his eyes. “I love you. You know that, right?”_

_Thranduil met his gaze and felt his heart melt. As much as he wanted to say it back, another answer came to mind as he gave a wry smirk. “Yes, I know.”_

_Bard gawked. “You’re going to leave me hanging like that?”_

_Thranduil smirked and leaned down, placing his hands on Bard's broad shoulders as they shared a deep kiss. Bard felt his heart catch in his throat, just then remembering that they had yet to sleep together in the entirely sexual meaning of the phrase, and that made him a little nervous._

_The lithe blonde man pushed himself away, still standing while Bard was sat on the edge of the bed, and started unbuttoning his shirt. It wasn't in a sexy way, Thranduil's face was now trying to be neutral as he began to expose marred skin. Bard waited patiently, giving Thranduil his full attention. Thranduil let his dress shirt slide from his arms and placed it across his desk chair. When he turned back to face Bard, the brunette could finally see the red scars scattered across Thranduil’s left side._

_Thranduil kneeled on the bed and settled in the middle. Bard followed suit, and so they sat face to face, their knees touching. Thranduil's arms came up to wrap around Bard's neck. Bard leaned in and kissed his boyfriend, closing his eyes and relaxing into Thranduil’s touch. The blond eventually took Bard’s hand and placed in on the scarred flesh on his chest._

_“It doesn’t hurt?” Bard said._

_Thranduil shook his head. “Not anymore. And I’m used to it, but will you be?”_

_“I love everything about you. I know it might be a little too early to say that, but I mean it.”_

_“No, it’s not too early. I love you, too.” Thranduil said, finally returning the endearment. They kissed again and again before they went any further._

_They went to bed that night with minimal interruptions. Bard held Thranduil for a bit until they inevitably split apart, but not so far apart that they couldn’t’ feel each other’s warmth or not hear the other breathing. In the morning, Bard initiated what could only be called cuddling and it was worth every year spent without this kind of intimacy. The next night, however, had started Bard’s familiarity with Thranduil’s nightmares, which usually happened at least once a month._

_The blonde had been thrashing in his sleep, curling into himself and sweating. Bard had read about conditions like this and knew not to try and wake him, but to try and comfort him. He reached out a laid a gentle hand on Thranduil's face, then snaked down to rub at his chest, already knowing that he liked this. Getting as close as he could, he spoke softly._

_"Thran, you're Ok, you're home. Everything's Ok. I'm here, just breath..."_

_This usually worked, especially the soothing words, as Thranduil said that even just the sound of his voice was comforting and the words didn't matter._

 

Now, nearly a year after that first encounter, Bard was used to this. It wasn’t entirely frequent, but Thranduil’s good moods and bad moods during the day made more sense now. To Thranduil’s relief and amazement, Bard was never bothered when he was woken up in the middle of the night. He supposed that having raised three kids by himself for so long made him instinctually alert whenever he woke up. That didn’t stop Thranduil from feeling bad about it, and he more often left the room to deal with his thoughts, which sometimes meant getting a drink. Like tonight.

“That bad?” Bard said when he got down to the kitchen. Bard didn’t have a problem with Thranduil drinking to forget, but he had been warned, by Legolas of all people, when the drinking had gone too far. Thranduil hadn't gotten drunk in Bard's presence or at all since they'd met, but Bard was still cautious.

“Yeah.” Thranduil replied, only a slightly defeated look on his face. He drank the rest of his whisky and placed his glass in the sink. “You’re here to come claim me?”

“For a matter of fact,” Bard said, coming up to his husband and kissing the side of his mouth. “I am. I get cold easily.”

Unbeknown to the parents, their boys were watching from upstairs. It was two in the morning, and they had stayed up playing video games. It was a school night, but they had entered a competition so...they were being quiet.

Having heard someone leave a room from across the hall, they’d stopped what they were doing and paused the game, thinking that their parents might be coming to scold them for still being up so late. After a few minutes of nothing but seeing the kitchen light from under their closed door, they snuck out of their room and crawled to the rafters. They watched as Bard put away the booze and took Thranduil's hand, leading him back in the direction of the staircase.

At that, the brothers went back to their room and turned off their game.

“I’ve never gotten the full story about Ada.” Bain said. "About the war?"

Legolas shook his head. “I don't know much more than you do. He told me about it once, and I read about it once in an old newspaper I found in the attic. He was a war hero, saved a lot of people and took out a lot, too. He told me once that he tries not to think about it, any of it. He was in a bomb strike when he was finally pulled out. He almost died.”

Bain took that all in, knowing that it must be a sensitive subject if even Legolas didn't know a lot. “Da told me when he has nightmares, the next day is hard for him.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve figured out on my own. Years ago, before I really understood what was going on, he would get drunk at night. I told Da that, so I think he watches Ada. I’m not worried, it hasn’t happened in a while.”

"It still sucks." 

Legolas shrugged. "At least he doesn't have to deal with it alone now."

...

The next day was Friday, and before Legolas and Bain left for school, they both checked to see if Thranduil was Ok. He was wearing his sunglasses that morning, but other than that, he seemed fine to go to work. 

"Did you sleep well last night?" Bain asked his father, who gave him a questioning look.

"I slept enough. How about you? Don't think I didn't hear you."

Bain looked at Bard in surprise. "But how? We were so careful!"

Bard chuckled. "You'll understand when you become a parent. You pick up on things." He sighed. "You're not going to fall asleep in class today?"

"No, I'll save that for when I come to work today." Bain said, earning a playful punch in the arm from his father.

Bain and Legolas were still working at the Diner, but only after school on the days Bard needed them. That night, Legolas served a table of teens from Erebor High School, including Fili Durin. They'd met once before like this, only Fili was with Bilbo, Thorin, Kili and Frodo. They hadn't spoken outside of Fili ordering his food, but if Legolas wasn't mistaken, he'd felt a spark when their eyes met.

The spark was surprisingly still there, taking both of them by surprise. Legolas took their orders and disappeared into the kitchen, taking a deep breath to calm the butterflies in his stomach. 

"Are you going to give that order to the cook, or should I?" Bain asked, looking his step brother up and down. "Why're you just standing there?"

"Because Fili Durin is here." Legolas said, walking up to the counter and pinning up the order for their cook. 

Bain followed him excitedly. "Oh, _is_ he?" Of course Bain knew about Legolas' crush, they talked all the time, and Legolas needed someone to confide in. 

"And he's wearing his soccer uniform. God, he's cute." Legolas groaned, peaking out from the swinging door. 

"Can you handle serving them, or should I take over while you oggle from afar?" 

"Oh, shut up!"

Later, when the group from Erebor were leaving, Legolas was confused to see Fili still sitting at the table. When he approached, Fili sat up a little straighter. 

"Hey, uh, I couldn't leave without ordering some pie for my brother." Fili said, a nervous smile on his face.

"Ah." Legolas replied. "I'll, um, get that right out for you." He left quickly, thinking hard about what he should say when he got back. This was a chance to establish a connection, but how should he do it?

"Just ask him out." Bain said, watching his step brother slicing a few pieces of apple pie.

"Easy for you to say, you've never asked anyone out." Legolas said. "And you've never had a crush on someone from another school. Or on another boy. or another person you weren't sure had compatible sexualities--"

"Ok, Ok, point taken." Bain said. "But maybe you're thinking way too hard about this?"

Legolas ignored him and walked away rolling his eyes. When he got back, he charged Fili for one slice, although he'd given him two. Fili payed in cash and told him to keep the change.  

"I, um, I also was wondering..." Fili started, on his feet now. "Well, I wasn't wondering, I just...I'm sorry, I just think you're really pretty and I wanted to tell you that."

Legolas was so shocked, he could speak for a moment. When it looked like Fili was about to apologize and storm out, Legolas stopped him. "I was thinking the exact same thing about you!"

Now it was Fili's turn to be speechless, a bright blush showing on his face. "Really?"

There were customers looking over at them, wondering what was going on, but neither boy payed them any attention. 

"Do you...want to go out sometime?" Legolas asked, feeling so nervous despite what had just happened. 

Fili's eyes lit up. "I would love to. Maybe we could hang out tomorrow at Laketown Mall? Maybe catch a movie or something?" 

Legolas agreed immediately and they exchanged phone numbers. Fili left shortly after, saying he'd text later with potential details. When he was out the door, Bain half tackled Legolas from behind.

"I knew you could do it!" Bain said. "I can't wait to tell Da and Ada! I already texted Sigrid."

"You did what?!" Legolas groaned, trying to pry Bain's arms away. "She's going to ask me so many questions about my date tomorrow!"

"Just wait until you guys start going to dances together, Da is going to take so many pictures." Bain said while his thumbs were busy texting at an ungodly speed. Legolas just groaned again, but was secretly happy about all of it. 


	8. Legolas and FIli

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Legolas and Fili's first date, plus some drama

“Legolas, do you think you could try and be home before Bard and I get back?” Thranduil asked.

Bard and Thranduil were getting ready to leave for a PTA meeting. They’d organized a number of other parents to confront the school about the mounting issues for their LGBT students, so their first step was to try and join/befriend the PTA before asking for their support. 

“I’ll try. Do you think that’ll be around eight? Nine?” Legolas asked, trying on a second choice of jacket and checking himself in the hall mirror. He put his hair up with one hand before deciding to leave it down.

Thranduil looked to Bard, who answered for him. “Probably closer to nine. Bain, Tilda, you know the rules while we’re gone.”

“No house parties, got it.” Bain said, using finger guns to emphasize his point.

“And?” Bard pressed, walking over to the kitchen table to kiss Tilda goodbye.

“And no TV until we’ve finished our homework.” Bain said under his breath, defeated.

“That’s my boy.” Bard said, bringing him in for a quick hug.

“You look very handsome, dear. This jacket is fine.” Thranduil said, resting firm hands on Legolas’ shoulders to prevent him from switching again.

“Don’t be nervous, Legs, he already thinks you’re very pretty.” Bain teased, locking eyes with Legolas in the mirror and pretending to dust the blonde off.

“I regret telling you anything.” Legolas groaned, pushing his brother away as he went out the door.

…

"How do you think this will go?" Bard asked Thranduil. Bard was driving, and they were nearly at the school. Both parents had been very happy to find others who shared their concerns, but that didn't erase their latent fears; some people would never support their cause, and some of those people might be here to fight them off.

"I honestly have no idea." Thranduil said. "I remember when Lindir was assaulted, there was very little to do, and the district basically shoved the whole thing under the rug, not wanting any bad publicity. It's only been two years since then, so I'm not sure if anything's changed." Thranduil paused, looking out the window and thinking very hard. "I just...I know that we have to do this, no matter what happens. It's so odd thinking about this all of a sudden. I've known about my sexuality for years, and yet I never felt I was in a place to fight for others, because I was rarely in a place where I had to fight for myself. But then again, I felt so invisible as a bisexual person that I barely ever mentioned it to anyone, let alone owned it and fought for it." Thranduil cursed at himself and stared out the window, disappointed in himself.

"Hey." Bard said, pulling into the parking lot and looking for a space. "Babe, relax. I think that you're a good father for thinking of Legolas now. Maybe your heart wasn't in it before, but that's in the past. All that matters is today, and tomorrow, because tomorrow isn't for us anymore, not really. It's for them. And no matter what your past was like, or what my past was like, we're here now and acting as a team for our children. I think that counts for something."

Thranduil looking up to see Bard's reassuring gaze, which had never failed to put him in a better mood. He took Bard's hand once he'd put the car in park, brought it to his lips and kissed the back of it.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm so lucky to have found you. Thank you for being here, with me."

Bard smiled, pulling their hands towards himself to reciprocate Thranduil's gesture. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

...

Legolas and Fili found themselves walking through Laketown Mall. They'd both been a tad nervous to start, as they'd never hung out before, but both blondes found out very quickly that they had several things in common.

“Why don’t you play soccer anymore?” Fili asked.

“I had to choose between soccer or archery, I couldn’t handle both.”

“Ah. My brother does archery. He likes it a lot, but I could never get the hang of it.”

A lull passed between them as Legolas became sidetracked and wanted to look through a clothes store. Fili followed without complaint, although a thought plagued him while his date found the leather jackets.

“I might have done a bad thing today, I’m not sure.” Fili said.

Legolas looked up. “About?”

“About us." Fili's shoulders tensed and he stuffed his hands in his pockets, his usual self consciousness showing. "I told Thorin I was on a date, but I didn’t tell him with who.”

It took a moment for Legolas before he understood. “Oh, right. Do you really think he’d be upset about it? I mean, he and my dad aren’t exactly friends, but they don’t hate each other. Do they?”

Fili shrugged. “Well, they work together all the time, but for the most part, Thorin only yells when he’s on a business call with your dad.”

Legolas shook his head, bringing his attention back to the clothes wrack in front of him. “They seem to instantly put each other in a bad mood. I wonder why. Da and Bilbo are such good friends.”

“I’ll tell him when I get home, about us." Fili said. "I’m sure it won’t be as bad as I thought. Even if he doesn't like Thranduil, there's no reason that he shouldn't like you.”

Legolas smiled and, rather boldly, took Fili's hand, pulling him from the store. They continued their walk, still hand in hand, and neither talked for a few fleeting moments, just enjoying the closeness. Fili stared straight ahead as they passed by Sephora, his mind racing again. He tried to think of something to talk about.

“Have you come out to your family?"

Legolas sighed. "Yes, but I didn't really mean to, it just sort of happened. In retrospect, I should have done it sooner, since my folks are queer too, it seems silly now that I was ever scared of coming out. What about you?"

"Not exactly, I don't technically know what I am, myself. But I guess..." Fili hesitated, never having told anyone about his hobby. He wondered if it would be a deal breaker. Legolas was looking at him now, urging him to continue with just a look, and he couldn't imagine such a sweet guy could reject him because of this, so he continued.

"...I guess there is something I'm definitely hiding from them. Even from my brother."

“Oh?”

"I...I wonder if you would understand.”

Legolas' interest was peaked, but he didn't say anything, only squeezed Fili's hand.

“It’s something I’ve never told anyone" Fili continued. "Because I’m scared to.”

"Hold on." Legolas stopped them from walking and found a quiet bench to sit. “Ok, I’m listening.”

Fili swallowed nervously before his eyes darted back to where they’d been walking.

“It’s going to sound silly.”

“I won’t laugh.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Fili took a breath. “I’ve never shown anyone, but I like wearing makeup. Like, I really, really like it.”

Legolas was quiet for a beat, as if he were waiting for more. “That's...that's it?" He had to blink to make sure he was registering Fili's nervous nod. He grinned. "I thought you were going to tell me something weird.”

It was Fili's turn to stare now, not believing what he'd heard. “This isn’t weird for you?”

“I mean, it’s weird for most people, I guess, but I…" Legolas bit his lip. "I think it’s hot.”

Fili's face went red and his mouth went dry. “Well shit.”

That made Legolas laugh, and Fili found it maddeningly infectious. They didn’t know how long they were laughing for, and they didn’t care how many people stared as they passed by.

“Would you show me sometime? Please?” Legolas asked, leaning in close, making Fili only a bit nervous, but mostly, he felt brave.

“I’d show you right now if you dared me.”

“What?” Legolas looked confused until Fili pointed out the store they’d just passed. Legolas's eyes lit up and he nearly blurted out: “I dare you, I double dog dare you!”

“Well, I can’t say no to that.” Fili said, and hand in hand, they walked into the Sephora. Fili immediately found the sample eye shadow in some new colors he didn’t already have and went to work. Legolas was impressed with how easy he made it look, and was throughly surprised with how it changed Fili’s entire mood. He seemed more confident, happier, and he looked amazing.

“I never would have guessed you were so good at this.” Legolas said. “You're such a jock. Looks really can be deceiving.”

“Don’t I know it.” Fili said, still touching up in the mirror.

“So, no one knows about this?”

Fili shook his head. “No one but you.”

Legolas tried to hold back his giddiness. Fili trusted him with something this personal. He was so happy he could start jumping up and down.

“Maybe you should keep it on.” Legolas said without thinking.

Fili looked at him then, still putting on the blush. “I don’t know. I’ve never kept it on anywhere in public before.”

“I mean, you don’t have to, of course. But when you’re ready, maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad test ground. There are lots of different kinds of people here, people you probably won’t ever meet again. And you can go home and have the conversation right when they see you. ‘Hey mom, I’m better at this then you are.’”

Fili giggled at that last part. “Maybe another day.”

Legolas took out his phone. “Can I take a picture with you?”

Fili hesitated, but saw how happy Legolas was. “Keep it to yourself?”

The taller blonde nodded vigorously. “I’ll keep it on my computer and delete it from my phone.”

After taking a quick selfie, which had taken a series of tries until Legolas got one that he liked, Fili removed the make up and bought new eyeliner, he was running out at home.

“Another thing about keeping the makeup on.” Fili said when they were heading towards the parking lot. “Today’s not a good time. Kili’s having a sleepover for his birthday. His real birthday’s tomorrow, but his friend’s are all here tonight. Even if Kili doesn’t laugh at me, they all might. They’re twelve year old boys.”

“Did you like make up when you were twelve?”

“Yes, but I’m sure that they’re different.”

“Yeah, I get it. I know my family won’t laugh, they’re the most accepting people I know.”

“Well, so are my mom and uncle. But I don’t know, it’s different. It’s not just about being gay, or bi, or pan, cause I’m not even sure about any of that, but it’s about men and masculinity. Even if I am gay or something, men still don’t wear make up.”

“Some men do. You do.” Legolas shrugged and looked to the ground before he met Fili's eyes. “And that’s all that matters.”

Fili felt like he was flying; or at least floating, because he couldn't feel his feet on the ground. He knew what this was, he knew what it had to be. He was falling for Legolas, extremely fast, and he wasn’t about to stop now. Stepping forward, with a pleading look and without words, Fili asked for a kiss. Legolas had never done this, but he knew right away what he wanted, and it felt like a magnetic force pulling him in.

Legolas rested his arms over Fili’s shoulders, and Fili’s hand rested on Legolas’ hips. Their mouths met in the softest touch, and the spark between them ignited. Legolas was the one to push further, pulling the other boy closer, parting his lips for more. Fili was lost in the moment, unable to gage whether or not he was actually doing this right, just that it felt right.

When they separated, it wasn’t because they wanted to.

A group of teenagers approached them from the parking lot entrance, teenagers that Fili had never met, but Legolas knew very well.

“Legolas?” Boromir said. “What the hell are you doing?” The other teens were also in the football team, and they were murmuring to themselves, looking as surprised as Boromir.

“I’m kissing my boyfriend, what does it look like I’m doing?” Legolas returned. Even though he'd been afraid of this exact possibility before, he felt a rage growing in his gut. If they tried to attack now, Legolas was ready to fight back. And because it was Boromir and not some random kid, he felt he might be able to reason with him.

“I just…didn’t know you were into guys.” Boromir looked a mixture of disgusted and confused.

“Well, people like you are the reason I don’t say anything about it.” Legolas replied. Fili was watching everything closely, a step back from Legolas and ready to step in if the need arose.

“People like me?” Boromir rasped, scandalized. "What do you mean?"

“You scare me." Legolas said honestly. "Or you used to. You and your friends are known for picking on guys like me.”

“Not like you, Legs. You’re one of us. You don’t…this isn’t you, Legs—”

Legolas stepped up to Boromir, his voice raised, his posture tense and glare relentless. “So I can’t be one of you and be gay at the same time? Is that not a remote possibility for someone like you to comprehend? You’re such an idiot!”

Boromir looked stunned, and his friends looked ready to defend him when Legolas stepped away, got into his car and dragged Fili in as well. They drove off before anything more could happen. Legolas had to drive around the block before he was calm enough to say anything.

“I’m sorry.” He sighed, trying to let go of all the rage he'd pent up.

“Don’t be." Fili said quickly. "You knew that guy?”

“Yeah. They’re football players at my school. Boromir’s been my friend for years, but he’s pretty homophobic. Not that I've ever seen him actually throw someone in a dumpster or jump anyone, but it's the things he says, the jokes he tells, that stuff. That’s pretty much the only bad thing about him, though, besides how extremely competitive he is. I thought he was better than this, but…”

“Some people are ignorant. It sucks.” Fili said.

Legolas was silent for a few moments. “…I’ll drive back, get you to your car.”

When they got back to the lot, Boromir and his friends were nowhere to be seen. Legolas drove up to Fili's car and parked beside it.

”Besides that last part when we were interrupted, I had fun." Fili said, a genuinely happy look in his eyes. "I really like you.”

Legolas, despite the heat still stirring in his stomach, smiled at Fili. “I really like you, too.”

“Can I kiss you goodnight?”

“Yes, please.”

Fili leaned in and raised his hand to cup Legolas’ cheek. This kiss was just as sweet as before, if not a little better.

…

Legolas arrived back home later then he'd expected to, both because of the run in with the guys from his school, and also because he and Fili had ended up kissing for quite a while. He walked into the house and was immediately intercepted by Bain. His step brother blocked the hallway entrance and made a shushing noise.

“What’s going on?” Legolas whispered.

“Your friend is here.”

“Which friend?”

“He says he saw you at the mall today?”

Legolas’ eyes widened in shock. “Boromir? Why is he here? Was he trying to find me? To beat me up in my own home?”

“No, no, no, listen! Da and Ada got back before you did, then a few minutes later, Boromir’s at our door, crying.”

“...Crying?”

“Yeah. He said he needed to apologize to you. He and our parents are talking about it right now.”

“What the hell…” Legolas tried to peak down the hall, but couldn't see anything. “Not too long ago, he told me I couldn't be gay, just after he saw me making out with Fili.”

“...I will get back to that.” Bain said, wanting very much to hear about the date later on. “But yeah, I don’t know when would be a good time for you to come in, he’s still pretty torn up about this.”

“Well so am I.”

Legolas walked into the living room to see the odd sight of Boromir sitting on the couch, clutching a steaming cup of tea, with both Bard and Thranduil sitting in their respective chairs, looking like dual councillors or something. They all looked up to see Legolas enter, and both Bard and Thranduil looked back at Boromir to gage his reaction.

“Legs…” Boromir started, eyes still red from his apparent cry. “I’m so sorry.”

“…For what?” Legolas said, a kind of malice in his vice that made both his fathers look strangely at him.

Boromir, however, took it in stride, understanding that he deserved it. “For saying what I did. For thinking what I thought…you should be able to be yourself with your friends. I still hope I am your friend.”

“Boromir told us everything.” Bard said. “And we’ve come to the conclusion that he never thought he knew a gay person, and had never really thought about how scared they must be at your school.”

"...You're really...actually, sorry?" Legolas said.

Boromir nodded. "Truly, I am. When you left, I honestly had this...this crushing feeling, then this revelation. I've never wanted to hurt gay people, but I was always afraid, you know? In my house, and in my team, and pretty much everywhere, if you're gay, you're weak, and that's not what I wanted to be." He got up, placing his tea on the coffee table. "But I see you, and you're one of the strongest people I know. I screwed up, and I never want to screw up again."

"...Yeah, you did." Legolas said after really taking in the state of his long time friend. "But that was a pretty damn good revelation."

Boromir smiled, albeit weakly. "Your dads talked some good sense into me just now. I didn't know you had two of them."

"Yeah, well, I guess I'm just lucky." Legolas said.

"Maybe it's best if we sleep on this, yeah?" Bard said, getting up himself and moving over to place and hand on both teenager's shoulders. "You guys can take the weekend off and reconvene on Monday after some thinking."

"Right, good idea, Mr. Bowman." Boromir said.

"Mr. Doriath-Bowman." Thranduil said. "I didn't win the hyphenated name argument for nothing."

Bard rolled his eyes, but was happy that the mood in the house was suddenly lighter. They saw Boromir off, and Legolas watched from the doorway as he drove off.

"Are you alright?" Thranduil asked his son when he came back inside.

"...I will be." Legolas said. "Just a bit shaken, is all."

"Understandable." Bard said. "So, how was your day before the incident?"

"Good." Legolas said, turning to go upstairs.

"That's it?" Bain said, exasperated. "Nothing else?"

"I'm not telling you lot any details, especially you."

"Now you've gone and ruined it for all of us." Bard teased Bain.


	9. Fili

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Fili and Legolas' date, at the Durin household

Only two of Kili's guests were able to be dropped of for his birthday party, so the beginning of Thorin’s night had consisted of driving around town and picking up the other three thirteen-year-olds. Frodo was the last to arrive, although the party had already started in the backyard. The sun was just about to set, and Dis was lighting a fire in the fire pit so that the group could roast marshmallows. The younger boy was hesitant to join the others, nervous that Bilbo wouldn't be there if something happened, knowing that Bilbo and Thorin were leaving soon to get dinner together.

“But I don’t know any of them.” Frodo said, looking out the window and seeing everyone laughing at something Kili'd said.

“You know Kili, and he really wants you to be here. Right, Thorin?” Bilbo said.

“Of course.” Thorin answered right away. “He’s been talking about it for weeks now. He didn’t want to start without you, but we were loosing the light.”

Frodo seemed to be encouraged enough with that, so he turned to the door. With his hand on the door handle, he turned back. “Where’s Fili?”

“Out.” Thorin said. “On a date. He’ll be back later tonight, I’m sure you’ll see him.”

Bilbo and Thorin watched for a little while to see Frodo very enthusiastically met by Kili, who immediately introduced him to all of his friends. He then pulled up a chair and told Frodo to sit next to him. Bilbo smiled seeing how naturally inclusive Kili was, or at least how sensitive he seemed to be at wanting to make Frodo happy.

“Why did Fili make a date for today? I thought he helped plan this thing.” Bilbo asked.

Thorin turned to the closet to get his coat. “It was very last minute, he literally made these plans last night. He didn’t tell me much about it either, but apparently, he’s had a crush on someone from another school for a bit, and they happened to meet at Stone Street Diner yesterday. One thing led to another, and they made a date as soon as they possibly could.”

"Well, that's one way to go about it." Bilbo said, following Thorin out the door. "Any idea who his date is and what gender they are?"

"No clue." Thorin deadpanned. Bilbo laughed and he smiled himself. "You know my gaydar has never worked, but Dis has always suspected he's more like me."

"Asexual?" Bilbo asked.

"Maybe, but more likely just something other than heterosexual. But I've never wanted to make assumptions."

"Well, what's worse, assuming he's straight before proven otherwise, or the other way around?"

Thorin laughed, getting to the driver's side of the car. "I think both are equally problematic. We just have to give it time."

"Said by possibly one of the most impatient of men that I know." Bilbo smirked.

Thorin and Bilbo had decided to make a change in their usual diner dash and had gone to a local pub, enjoying a few hours without children in their midst. Bilbo talked about the latest developments of his book, and Thorin listened intensely, always absorbed in what Bilbo had to say. When they got back, Bilbo popped into the basement where the kids were playing video games and said goodbye to Frodo, as he was leaving him there until the day after next. When Bilbo left, Dis went straight to bed, leaving Thorin on kid duty, including waiting for Fili to come home. When the teenager finally did get home, it was close to ten o'clock.

“Sorry I’m home late.” Fili said, placing his keys in a bowl on the kitchen counter. Thorin, who had been reading the newspaper at the kitchen table, set it down to see his nephew, but before Thorin could say anything, Kili ran up to his brother and squeezed him tight around the middle from behind.

“Fi! You’ve gotta come down to the basement, we’re playing your favorite game! You have to beat Gimli, no one else can!”

Fili squirmed in his brother's grasp. “Hold on, I was just talking to Thorin.”

“You can talk to him later, he lives here!” Kili whined, coming up around Fili. He was still holding onto him when he felt something in the pocket of Fili’s sweater jabbing him in the chest. Without thinking, Kili reached into Fili’s pocket and pulled out the eyeliner. “What’s this?”

Fili’s blood went cold as he immediately snatched the thing out of Kili’s hand. He glanced up to Thorin to see if he'd noticed. If he did, he wasn't showing any signs of surprise or curiosity. He looked back at Kili, who was only slightly deflated. Agitation crept into Fili's voice.

“Why did you do that? God, Kili, mind your own business." He stuffed his hands into his jackets pockets and was about to leave when he took another look at Kili. "Wait, is that my shirt?”

Kili looked down, and then back up innocently. “I wanted something bigger to sleep in, so I—“

“So you went into my room and snooped through my stuff?” Fili practically hissed, making Kili step back half a step. Fili usually didn’t have a problem with Kili coming into his room, this was very unexpected. He tried to recover.

“I didn’t know you’d be upset about it—“

“You and your friends, stay out of my room, got it?” Fili interrupted, moodier than Thorin had seen him in a while. Kili noticed too, which made him stay quiet.

“Fili, wait.” Thorin said, following the teen as he stormed out of the kitchen.

Fili turned and looked up at his uncle a little solemnly. "Can I talk to you?"

“Yes." Thorin simply replied, letting Fili lead them into his bedroom.

"Some...things happened tonight." Fili said vaguely when Thorin closed the bedroom door behind him.

“Good things, or bad things?” Thorin asked, sitting at Fili desk chair while the teenager flopped down on his bed.

“Both.” Fili sighed. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed heavily. “Sooo much happened tonight.”

“I’m listening.” Thorin said.

Fili took a breath. “First of all, Legolas Doriath is my boyfriend now.” He sat up and looked Thorin in the eye, watching closely for his reaction.

“Legolas?” Thorin said, as if to make sure he heard it right. At Fili’s nod, he thought for a moment before he continued. “Well then…he must be special, if he’s your first boyfriend.”

Fili took a moment to process that, looking down at his hands. “He is. Will that bother you?"

"Not at all." Thorin said. "Did you think I'd reject you because of Thranduil?"

"Part of me did."

"Well, I'm sorry I gave you that impression."

Fili saw that Thorin's word was genuine, and he felt a little bit of relief. "We had a good time, until some guys that he knew saw us and…confronted us.”

“Confronted you?" Thorin repeated. In a moment of realization, he leaned forward and his gaze narrowed. "Did they threaten you?”

Fili shook his head. “Not so much, but they definitely might have if we hadn’t left right away. Legolas yelled at them because they said some homophobic shit and I was ready to fight if I needed to. It was scary, I'd never been in any kind of situation like that. Legolas said his school is just like that, I can't even imagine. And I was so ready to jump at something, I can't remember the last time I had so much energy—“

“So you were adrenalized, and now you’re coming down from the high.” Thorin said, nodding to himself. "That might explain your mood."

Fili nodded. “That might also explain why we were both so energized after that.” He paused. “As you can imagine.”

Thorin assumed correctly that Fili was talking about some kind of romantic physical activity. “Please don’t give me the details.”

“I won’t...but that’s not everything.”

“How is there more? They didn’t come after you, did they?”

“No, nothing like that. Before, when we were just hanging out, that’s when I bought this.” Fili took out the eye liner from his pocket. “We were at a store and I was showing Legolas how to contour.”

Thorin kept his gaze steady on Fili, no real change in his face like the teen had expected.

“…And, you know how to do that?” Thorin asked thoughtfully.

Fili nodded. He got up and opened the bottom drawer of his desk, taking out a bag with the rest of his cosmetics. “I’ve been teaching myself how to do my own makeup since I was thirteen. I really like how it looks, and it gives me confidence. Legolas was the first person I ever told.”

Thorin nodded. “Were you scared to tell us?”

Fili put the bag down and sat back on his bed, arms crossed. “I was scared you’d all make fun of me. I don’t know any other guys who wear makeup, and I don’t know how anyone will react.” Fili held his face in his hands. "I don't know what to expect from people who expect me not to be into the kind of stuff. Rejection? Denial? Violence?"

Thorin was quiet for a moment, keeping Fili in a small tunnel of anxiety until he spoke again. “Your mother found that bag probably a year ago.”

Fili looked up abruptly. “What?”

“She was looking for the double A batteries and thought you might have had them last. She didn’t tell you she'd found your makeup bag because she was waiting to see if you’d say something about it first.”

“So…you both knew that I at least owned makeup?”

“Yes.”

“And what did you think for a whole year?”

“We didn’t know what to think, but we didn’t want to make assumptions. We didn’t know if this had to do with gender, or sexuality, or something else, or if it was even yours. But if this is important to you, we’ll support you. You have to know that by now.”

Fili looked away again, hating that he'd second guessed himself about their support in the first place, but it seemed the only logical thing to do when faced with something that could potentially hurt him so badly. “But what about Kili? I’m his big brother, the jock, I’m growing facial hair, what will he have to say about it?”

“Do you care what he thinks?”

“Of course I do. What will I do if he laughs at me? or if he doesn’t take me seriously anymore? I won’t want to talk to him anymore, but I never want anything like that to happen to us.”

Thorin clapped his hands over his knees, giving Fili that look he usually gave whenever he was telling someone something obvious. “If you tell him that this is a part of who you are, then he’ll respect it. He looks up to you more than you know. I bet that if you start wearing makeup around the house, he’ll even want to try it, that's how much he wants to be like you.”

Fili didn't know what to feel. “How can you be so sure?"

"Because he loves you, Fili."

"...Am I scared for no reason?”

“No, I think your feelings are valid. The world doesn’t see people like you too often, or when they do, it writes them off as something else, as something ‘other,’ and sometimes...oftentimes, as something less. But only you can define yourself, and the only opinion that matters is yours. Not mine, not your mother’s, not even Kili’s.”

“I just…I just don’t want to be scared of being myself. I want to feel Ok being who I am.” He tried, but ultimately couldn't hold back his tears. “And all I know about my sexuality is that its not normal, and I feel fine with my gender, but I know people won’t like how I want to present it. I’m a mess and I hate it!”

Thorin got up and sat next to his nephew, putting an arm around him and holding him close. “It’s a privilege to feel comfortable in a world that tries to limit people as much as it does. I’m sorry you feel this way, and I’ll do whatever I can to help, if there’s anything I can do. The same thing goes for your mother.” Thorin rubbed Fili's back and let him have his feelings for a few quiet moments. “Maybe if you start small, like doing your make up in the house, then maybe going out with it won’t be so bad.”

Fili sniffed and tried to breathe normally. “That might make me feel better. I just feel raw right now, tonight took a lot out of me. I might turn in early.”

Thorin got up. “Ok. Kili was looking forward to you joining them, but I’ll tell him not to expect you.”

...

Later that night, Fili was heard a knock at his door. He was reading because he couldn’t sleep, but he didn’t answer. The door cracked open anyway, his brother peaking in with a wary look on his face.

“Can I come in?” He asked.

“Sure.” Fili said. “Have your guests all knocked out? You guys got quiet.”

Kili closed the door behind him and stepped closer to the head of Fili's bed. “Yeah, mostly. I thought you’d be asleep.

“Can’t sleep.” Fili shrugged, placing his book face down in his lap.

“I’m sorry for earlier.”

“It’s fine. I’m usually not so sensitive about that shit.”

Kili tried not to laugh at Fili’s choice of words. He was still at an age where cursing was hilarious.

“I thought you’d want to come watch movies with us earlier, but Thorin said you had a really weird day. But I was wondering if you’d maybe come down and play with me? A video game or something? If you don’t want to right now, maybe in the morning?”

Fili sighed, his eyelids heavy. “You should try and get some sleep. And in the morning, you’ll have to entertain your friends.”

“They’re your friends too.” Kili said, a little agitated. “At least, you've always liked them. It’s hard enough that I don’t see you at school, are you never going to be home either?”

Fili's gaze narrowed, concerned. Kili had never said anything like this to him before. “I wasn’t trying to avoid you, I was busy today. I’ll make sure to spend your birthday tomorrow with you.”

“Today. It’s after midnight.”

“Look, I’m sorry. My life is getting…more complicated, and I’ve just been trying to keep my head above water.”

“So tell me about it.” Kili said, inching closer, and he was leaning on the bed with his outstretched arms. “You used to tell me everything."

“What makes you think I’m not?” Fili asked, an involuntary shake in his voice.

Kili just gave him a look, a cocky, wry look in his eyes signaling that he knew Fili better than anyone else and would not tolerate bull shit. Fili stared back in defiance only for a moment.

“Fine. But you asked for it.” Fili got up from bed, took his desk chair, and rolled it in front of the mirror. “Sit by me, I’m going to teach you something.”

Kili quickly took a seat on top of Fili’s desk, watching intently as Fili opened the bottom drawer, took out a handful of things, and started telling him the importance of foundation. Kili was a little stunned at first, seeing his brother effortlessly start swiping a fluffy brush across his skin. He waited for his brother to look at him, but Fili didn’t turn away from the mirror or stop what he was doing for minutes. He went into every detail of what he was doing as if he was going to quiz Kili right after, so he had no choice but to listen, not that he could think of anything to say.

When he was finished, Fili had done a simple touch up, then given himself golden embellishments around his eyes, and his lips were a glossy chestnut color.

“So.” Fili said, turning his head to look at Kili for the first time in minutes. “What have we learned?”

“Um.” Kili mumbled, staring at his brother in wonderment. “I learned…a lot more about makeup then I ever thought I would. I...didn’t know there were so many different ways to do it.”

Fili didn't break their eye contact, even though he wanted to. “…Do you think I’m a freak?”

“No.” Kili said without hesitation. “I think you’re beautiful.”

Fili's expression changed from concerned to astonished in seconds. With wide eyes, tears were suddenly blurring his vision. “What?”

“ _You look amazing_." Kili said, emphasizing every word. "And you seem really happy, happier then you've been lately.”

“You think I’ve been unhappy?”

Kill half shrugged. “I just assumed it was puberty.”

Fili couldn't stop himself from releasing a puff of nervous laughter. "I thought for sure you would laugh at me."

"I might have, if you didn't look so fierce." Kili said, only half joking.

They both laughed together, and Fili felt lighter then he had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is getting further and further away from anything remotely hobbit related...but it's pretty much writing itself at this point so I don't know if I care xP


	10. More Trouble: Legolas and Fili

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things develop, both good and bad. Warning: Violence against queer character, both verbal and physical

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is getting quite serious. I'm venting out a lot of legitimate feelings over here.

On Monday, Legolas found Boromir outside of homeroom. Bain was with him, and he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Hey.” Legolas said when they reached him.

“Hey.” Boromir replied. “…How was your weekend?”

Legolas shrugged. It had been uneventful, besides he and Fili hanging out on Sunday and updating each other about everything that had happened after their date.

“Legolas and I are starting an LGBTQ club.” Bain said. “When we get everything approved, would you join?”

Boromir looked surprised. “I, um…what would you be doing in the club?”

“Well, since we think it might mostly consist of allies, we were thinking about watching some indie films, having a book club element, maybe even having a club blog.” Legolas said. “We’d have it either over lunch once a week or after school.”

“Maybe both.” Bain added.

“I—I’ll join, yeah.” Boromir said. “Maybe my brother would be interested, too. I, um, told him about all of this stuff over the weekend. We kind of both figured out that our home life is the root of some pretty bad problems.”

Legolas and Bain looked at each other curiously then.

“Sorry man.” Bain said, it was all he could think to say.

“It’s Ok. Maybe, now that I know, it’ll get better.”

Legolas was a little overwhelmed by the amount of information they were getting. “We need to go do something before we go to class, I’ll see you there in a few.” Legolas said, turning and grabbing Bain and brought him outside.

“Dude, I was not expecting this.” Legolas said.

“I remember he said something about his dad to our parents.” Bain said. “Like, that he’s a little crazy.”

“Maybe he’s a super hetero jerk. I’ve never met the guy. Do you think…”

“What?”

“Do you think Boromir is in the closet?” Legolas asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think he was mostly feeling the pressure of being a ‘man’s man,’ you know? Kind of like Fili liking more feminine things, only without a supportive family. Straight guys aren’t really allowed to like a lot of things, if you listen to that kind of bullshit, anyway.”

That made Legolas think. It was odd, thinking you knew someone so well, and then realizing that there was far more to the story. He thought it sounded a lot like coming out as one thing or another.

“Makes you appreciate what you have, doesn’t it?” Bain said. “I’m straight, but I don’t care what anyone else thinks about what I’m like, even if I might be considered a little girly. Da taught me that.” Bain leaned in and hugged Legolas then, further proving his point. Legolas knew what he meant, because Bain was affectionate and not afraid to show it. He also rather liked gossip and was a bit of a romantic.

The bell rang and the step brothers went their separate ways. When Legolas stepped into the classroom, he saw that he was the last to arrive and that Boromir had specifically saved him a seat in the front, where he normally preferred to sit even though Boromir usually liked the back. He sat down and smiled at his friend. Maybe things wouldn’t turn out so bad after all.

…

It took weeks of Fili wearing makeup around the house for him to even start thinking about doing it in public. He’d started out small, nothing too flashy or creative, and only on his dates with Legolas. They’d go out to eat, or see a movie, and eventually, it was easier and easier to go out without feeling completely self conscious. Sometimes, he forgot he’d even made up in the first place.

School, however, was a different monster entirely. In public, you hardly met anyone you actually knew. At school judgment was less inner than it was outer, as high school was like all of humanities problems shoved into a sardine can, or a petri dish for a scientific study on extreme human behavior. In other words, Fili was still afraid of his classmates.

The first day he decided to do it was the day after a successful soccer game. That morning, he’d felt good, like he did the day after any sporting victory. He’d gotten up early, showered, and, almost without thinking about it, applied his make up. The chestnut lipstick was his favorite, and so to go with it, he painted on small black wings on his eyes, and a subtle hint of mahogany eye shadow. When his mother had seen him leave the house, she hadn’t said anything, just made sure she got her hug in before he drove off, although Fili thought the hug might have been a little extra long that morning.

He walked into school like he always did, went to his locker for a specific book, and went into class a little earlier than normal. His teacher smiled when she saw him, and kindly asked if he’d seen himself in the mirror this morning.

“I did, I’m not really good at doing my makeup without a mirror.”

She laughed, a little surprised to say the least, but ended the conversation by saying she was the same way.

It wasn’t until lunch that anyone approached him. Most of his friends and classmates had either stared at him all day or made vague gestures to him posting to their faces during a lecture, trying to figure out what had happened. He’d ignored them until lunch, when they all started asking him real questions. Every other question was pretty much the same for everyone, “Did someone pull a prank on you?,” “Did you loose a bet?,” “Why are you wearing makeup?,” “Are you gay or something?”

He eventually couldn’t take it, and after he finished eating, he’d retreated to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror, seeing nothing but his gorgeous self, and wondered why the world cared so much about his appearance.

Just then, three boys came in. He glanced at them in the mirror, recognizing them to be his own teammates. One of them was Bolg, the others were his cousins. They weren’t necessarily friends, but they tolerated each other well enough.

“Hey, Fi.” Bolg said, looking at him in disgust.

“Hey.” Fili said, waving him off and going for the door. He was pulled back by the collar of his jacket by Bolg, forcibly, and he stumbled back against the wall.

“Hey, what was that for?!” Fili shouted.

“What is that shit on your face for?” Bold countered. “My dog is prettier than you, and she’s missing an eye.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry I’ve offended you with my ugliness, I’ll file your complaint for future reference.” Fili said, pushing himself from the wall only to have him shoved back.

“None of your snark, bitch.” Bolg hissed. “And I never said you were ugly. But you will be.”

The menacing tone of the other boy’s voice sent every warning signal in Fili’s body off immediately. He tensed, trying to free himself, and succeeding, until the other two boys grabbed him by the arms and thrust him back. He hit his head on the tiles of the wall and felt dizzy. Before he could say or do anything, Bolg’s fist rammed into the stomach, making him arch painfully forward. Bile came up in his throat and he coughed up some of it onto the floor.

“Means I’m doing this right.” Bolg said, laughing to himself. He did it again, this time aiming upwards. Fili cried in pain, feeling something in his body crack. Bolg was big and tall, easily the fiercest kicker on their team. At that thought, Fili feared the worst, and saw that Bolg had his cleats on.

“Our soccer team isn’t for pussies.” Bolg practically spat in Fili’s face. “So I’ll make sure you can’t play anymore.”

“Wait—“ Fili said, desperate to reason with him. With the cousins holding him down and his rib possibly broken, he was in too much pain to try and fight them off now. Another punch to the gut later, and Bolg was kneeling on the floor, trying to untie one of Fili’s shoes.

“You can't kick a ball without your feet.” Bolg said, smiling as if he’d said something extremely clever.

“No, Bolg, stop! What the fuck are you doing?” Fili screamed, hoping that someone would hear him.

Bolg didn’t answer, he only made for his cousins to maneuver their positions so one of them had Fili in a headlock, while the other held down his leg. Without preamble, Bolg stomped into Fili’s exposed foot, and his shriek of pain echoed through the room.

Fili was in so much pain that he didn’t notice the bathroom door burst open. Security filed in and grabbed the boys, leaving Fili to slide to the floor in exhaustion. They were dragged out, and Fili was met with a familiar face.

“Fili, stay with me, ok?” It was Ori, his long time friend.

Fili couldn’t reply, he was too busy trying to breath. A security guard came up and said something about getting a stretcher and to wait here. Ori stayed, even though the bell had rung, or was the the ringing in his ears?

After a moment, they were alone, the only sound in the bathroom of Fili’s heavy and stilted breathing.

“I was in a stall when I heard those bullies come in.” Ori said. “I couldn’t get up right away, so I texted someone to get security in here.”

“…Good thinking.” Fili said, genuinely happy that Ori had been there. “Thank you.”

“No problem, you’d have done more for me. You’d probably have tried to break it up yourself.”

“Yeah, well, I think your way was smarter.”

Ori looked up, reaching out and squeezing Fili’s hand tight. His other arm went around Fili’s shoulders, so that he could rest his head back without it hitting the tiles. Fili, out of his relief and misery, felt only slightly awkward, remembering something Ori had told him about a year ago and wondering if it was still true.

“Ori, I…I have a boyfriend.” He said, still somewhat breathless.

Ori looked surprised, but he didn’t loosen his grip on Fili’s hand, mostly because he was afraid to hurt him. “Do I know him?” He asked.

“I don’t think so. He lives in Mirkwood, and he works in Dale. His name is Legolas Doriath.”

Ori was silent for a few beats. “He’s that guy that works at Stone Street Diner?”

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

“I remember the way you looked at him the other day.” Ori said. He had been there the day Fili hung back at the diner and was asked out by Legolas, he was the assistant coach on the soccer team and had joined the few who’d gone out for a celebratory dinner.

Fili nodded, not knowing whether to think of Ori as intuitive and observing, or if he himself wore his heart on his sleeve whenever he looked at Legolas and it was easy for anyone to see how he felt.

“He makes you happy?” Ori asked.

Fili tried to nod. “Really happy.”

“Then I’m glad.” Ori said, his voice shaking a little. “…Who did your makeup?”

Fili nearly cringed at the question, but knew better than anyone that ori would never judge him. “I did. I should probably take it off now, though. It’s probably fucked up.”

Ori looked him over thoughtfully. “I don’t think it is. They didn’t punch you in the face, did they?”

“No, but I have tears running down my face, so that’ll mess with it.”

“I don’t think it’s bad. You aren’t wearing eyeliner, so nothings bleeding.”

Fili smiled at that, and Ori felt good for a moment, having the thought that if Fili could smile through this kind of pain, Ori could smile through his own.

When the nurse came in with the stretcher, Ori insisted he come with them until his mother arrived. He knew for a fact that she’d want every detail of what happened, and Fili was unfit to really talk about it at the moment, while he had been there the whole time. The Principal, who had come along with the nurse, agreed to have him skip his class for now, and the office called for Dis and Thorin.

When Fili’s mother arrived, she was not happy. Dis saw the state of him and immediately demanded to know how the school would reprimand the boys who did this to her son. The principal himself told her that she would be updated once they figured out how to handle it, and promised that they wouldn’t get away scotch free. Ori only left for class when the ambulance arrived and when Dis told him to go to class.

Fili didn’t complain on the ride to the hospital, but he was in incredible amounts of pain. He couldn’t help but cry, and his mother stayed close, wiping his tears away and trying to make him comfortable. They were in the hospital for hours, but once Fili was given some painkillers and a cast for his foot, he felt good enough to call his boyfriend.

…

Legolas was at the kitchen table doing homework when Fili called him. He wondered if he should leave the room, since Tilda and Bard were also at the table doing her homework, and Thranduil was in the kitchen. He shrugged and picked it up anyway.

“Hey.”

“ _Hi_.” Fili said. He sighed heavily. “ _I got beat up at school today_.”

“Oh my god.” Legolas said, his voice like venom. “Who the fuck was it?”

Both Bard and Thranduil looked up at that. Their instinct was to scold, but the look of fear on their son’s face was enough to keep them quiet. Bard made Tilda get up and leave the room while Thranduil took a seat across from him.

“ _Three guys from my soccer team. They cornered me in the bathroom, punched me in the stomach and stomped on my right foot with cleats. I have a cracked rib and a few broken toes_.”

“Why would they do that?”

“ _They didn’t like my face today, I guess. It was more…feminine today._ ”

“Oh Fili…” Legolas said, tears forming in his eyes. He tried to blink them away as he looked at both Bard and Thranduil. “God, that’s so unfair! Three against one? What the fuck—“

“ _Hey, I’ll have to call you back, the doctor’s coming in again._ ”

“O-ok. Please call me back.”

“ _I will, I will, I think my mom wants to talk to your dads anyway._ ”

“Yeah, sure, anything. I’ll talk to you later.”

“ _Ok. Bye._ ”

Legolas hung up and was met with stares of two concerned adults.

“What happened?” Thranduil asked calmly, scooting his chair closer to Legolas, as it looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment.

“Fili got beat up. Three guys cornered him in a bathroom.” He said, his voice a mix of both rage and sadness.

His parents looked at each other in deep worry. Legolas looked defeated, scared, and helpless. All Thranduil could think to do was hug him, so he did, and his greenleaf cried on his shoulder. Bard stayed by their side for a few minutes until he got up to warn Bain and Tilda. Your brother is hurting right now, he’s yet again seen just how ugly the world can be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of changing the name of the fic. It's not really just a Diner AU anymore is it? If you have any suggestions, I'm super down, I need some ideas.


	11. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of last chapter, so some fluff ensues

That night, Bard was restless. The household had gone to bed more or less with a rain cloud over their heads, and none had it worse than Legolas. But the fact that it was Legolas -- the usually vigilant, steadfast, optimistic young man that he was -- was disheartening to both Bard and Thranduil. They felt his pain and were powerless to take it away from him, which Bard thought was one of the worst feelings a parent could possibly have.

Bard had showered before Thranduil, so now he was lying awake in bed, thinking hard. When Thranduil walked in from their bathroom, he sat on his side of the bed and smoothed his hand over Bard's creased forehead.

“You think so loudly." Thranduil said. "How does the extent of your worry always surprise me? I can see it in every line of your face.”

Bard hummed. “You’re just as worried as I am, you just don’t show it in the same way." He opened his eyes and looked up to see his husband, his hair pinned up and wearing absolutely nothing. Bard sighed and rolled over onto his side facing away from Thranduil. “Besides, your insane genetics make worry lines and wrinkles impossible.”

“I’m not calling you old.” Thranduil said, undeterred by his husband's move as he ran his fingers through Bard's slightly damp hair. “And if I were, it’d be a good thing. Older men are such a turn on.”

“Then why’d you marry me? I’m younger than you are.”

Thranduil lied down beside Bard and wrapped his arms around him. “Because of your cooking, obviously.”

That made his husband chuckle, and Thranduil buried his face in Bard’s neck, pleased with himself that he’d made the other laugh, at least a little. Some minutes passed, but neither had turned the light out, they weren't quite tired enough to sleep yet.

“You’re going to be tossing and turning tonight if you keep thinking about this.” Thranduil said, not needing to ask what he was thinking about. “There’s nothing we can do until tomorrow. You have to relax.”

He then took to massaging Bard’s shoulders, earning a groan from the other man. Eventually, Bard was lured onto his stomach so that Thranduil could dig his fingers and the heels of his hands into Bard’s back. Bard often did this for Thranduil on nights before a big meeting or closer, but Thranduil repaid the gesture whenever necessary.

After some minutes of this, Thranduil eventually laid down over Bard, enveloping the brunette with his own body, kissing down Bard’s neck and running both hands down his husband’s sides. Bard moaned into his pillow, marginally more relaxed now, and a little bit aroused. Thranduil’s massages usually ended up in some state of erotic, but tonight, there was a touch more emotional need than usual.

“Thran…” Bard said, turning his head to the side and feeling his husbands teeth nip at his ear. “I need you.”

“I need you, too, baby.” Thranduil whispered into his ear before leaning down and sinking his teeth into the skin of Bard's neck. After enjoying a series of muffled moans from Bard, Thranduil let go and brought himself up on his hands and knees so that Bard could roll over onto his back. He then lowered himself so that they were chest to chest. They kissed harder than usual, trying to convince themselves that this connection between them would never be severed, like their past heartbreaks. They made love clinging to each other, as close as they possibly could be. For a few moments throughout it, they barely moved, unconcerned with release, just in need of the intimate connection.

When they were finished, they laid close together, sharing their collective warmth, trying to block out the world.

“I was in high school the first time I had sex with a guy.” Bard thought out loud. “It was terrible, not only because it was bad, but because I was in love with someone else.”

“Your future wife?” Thranduil asked, playing with a lock of Bard’s hair.

“Yeah.”

Thranduil was quiet for a moment before the thought occurred to him. “Was I your first good lay? With I man, I mean.”

Bard laughed softly. “You were, now that I think about it." He sighed into Thranduil's shoulder, mapping out the contour of his shoulder blade with two fingers. "I just hope Legolas and Fili will be smarter then I was at their age.”

Thranduil hummed, and Bard could feel the vibration. “They seem to really like each other."

"It looks like love to me."

"...I didn’t realize how nice it would feel to know that my son is in love.”

“Neither did I.” Bard sighed. “Legolas gave Dis my number, since I’m easier to contact during business hours. She’ll probably call sometime tomorrow.”

“Any idea what she'll want to talk about?”

“Not really, but if she’s anything like Thorin, I imagine she’s looking for advice. If Fili’s school does what Legolas’ did with Lindir's situation two years ago, she’s likely to take the entire district down.”

“We might want her on our team, then.”

“She might be already.”

…

Dis and Bard had set up a meeting for Wednesday evening. Legolas was going with them, since Tuesday, he was too busy with studying and club organizing to justify driving to Erebor.

“You don’t have to be here for this.” Thorin told Bilbo. They were in the kitchen, and Bilbo was temperamentally making tea. When Thorin had told him about what happened to Fili, the writer had become livid, almost as much as Dis had, and had insisted on meeting with the Doriath-Bowmans that day.

“I remember kids like that, Thorin.” Bilbo said, trying not to sound angry at his boyfriend, but steaming nonetheless. “And that was years ago! Over twenty, no, thirty years ago!”

“I know.” Thorin said, coming up to stand next to him. “I’m not happy about it myself.”

“Well of course you aren't.” Bilbo sighed, trying to calm down. “How is he? I haven’t seen him yet.”

“He’s healing well. He’s in a lot of pain, but he doesn’t show it.”

“Four broken toes a rib fracture is more brutal then it sounds. Especially for an athlete. Does he have to do homework?”

“Yes. His friend Ori has been delivering his assignments daily, and doing the extra work of getting notes for all of his classes, even the ones he doesn’t share with Fili. He’s been very helpful.”

“Isn’t Ori the younger brother of two of your associates?”

“Yes, Dori and Nori.”

Just then, both men heard Dis answer the door, and they could here the voices of Bard and Thranduil. The sound of someone booking it upstairs was most likely Legolas. Bilbo was pouring the tea when Thorin left to greet the others.

“Thorin, good to see you.” Bard said, extending his hand. “It’s been a while.”

“It has been.” Thorin replied, shaking Bard’s hand firmly. His gaze went to Thranduil, who looked all together more human than usual. The circumstances being what they were, Thorin supposed it made sense.

“How is he?” Thranduil asked Thorin, following his husband’s example and shaking his hand as well.

“As good as he can be doing.” Thorin replied honestly.

Thranduil gave him a genuine look of gratefulness. “Then I’m sure he’ll make a speedy recovery.”

“I’m assuming it’s hard for him to get around?” Bard said before he was greeted by Bilbo and handed a hot cup of tea. Bilbo served tea to everyone, and they all migrated to the main room to sit down.

“He’s in bed most of the day.” Dis said. “He gets up when he has to, he can almost do that by himself. Kili usually helps him when he’s home from school. He doesn’t want to leave his side, even at bedtime.”

“What about during the day?” Thranduil asked. “Does one of you have to stay here?”

“We’ve been taking turns.” Thorin said. “I’m staying here for a few weeks using some vacation time, although I am still answering emails and working through my assistant. Dis will do the same when I go back to work.”

“How is Legolas?” Dis asked. “I didn’t even get a word out of him when he came in.”

“He’s been very eager to see Fili.” Thranduil answered. “He wanted to skip school yesterday and come over. As much as I wanted him to see that Fili was Ok, I couldn’t let him cut class.”

“He’s been so worried, and quite sad.” Bard added. “It’s hard for us to see him like this, especially because he’s usually so happy.”

“It was like this his freshman year, too.” Thranduil said. “When his friend Lindir was jumped. Although at the time, I thought he was just concerned over his friend being hurt, now I know that it’d scared him into not coming out, even to me.”

“Maybe all of that is coming back to him.” Bard said, reaching out to take his husband’s hand. “I sometimes think about moving him to a more inclusive school, but he's almost a senior, and I know that if we don’t make life better for the kids here, then no one will.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Dis said. “And it’s so bizarre, because Fili’s school hasn’t had an incident like this in a very long time.”

“But how much of the bullying goes undocumented, or unchallenged I wonder.” Thranduil said.

The room was dark when the sun began to set, but it wasn’t until Kili and Frodo entered the room that anyone thought to turn a light on.

“Where are you two going?” Bilbo asked.

“To the basement to play a game.” Frodo answered.

“Fili asked us to leave him Legolas alone.” Kili said before they disappeared into the basement.

…

Legolas was sitting next to Fili in bed, holding his hand between both of his own. Fili was propped up using a few pillows, and he couldn't very well change positions without hurting himself, but he was able to rest his head on Legolas' shoulder. Legolas had already asked Fili every question he had about his injuries over the phone the day before, so neither really knew what to talk about. They'd also exchanged feelings on the entire situation, and neither wanted to talk about it anymore. But as content as they were to just sit together, there was something burning at the back of Legolas' mind.

“Can I tell you something personal?” Legolas asked.

Fili hummed. “Yeah, of course.”

Legolas bit his lip, thinking it over. “Yeah, but…can I tell you something sexual?”

Fili lifted his head and looked his boyfriend in the eye. “Ah. Um, yes?”

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable." Legolas was slightly nervous, but when Fili leaned in to kiss him softly, he reacted like he always did, eager and happy to do so.

Fili leaned back a bit, although their faces were still very close. “No matter what you say, I’m already uncomfortable. Not because of talking about sexual things, just because I’ve been in bed for two days—“

“I get it.” Legolas smiled. “I’ve, um, been thinking about you, when I…”

Once he understood his boyfriend's implications, Fili’s face started burning, completely flushed.

“…you know.” Legolas continued. “And all I’ve been able to think about at night is making you feel better.”

“Wow.” Fili said under his breath, a little winded. “I’ve never been more frustrated about being in a cast and having a fractured rib.” That made Legolas laugh, and he was glad for it. "You know...I think about you too.

Legolas had a new determination in his eyes. “Nobody’s going to come up here for a while, and I’ve wanted to kiss you so badly, I would have as soon as I saw you if Kili wasn’t in here.”

“Please kiss me.”

Legolas scooted closer to him on the bed and leaned in, starting off slow. Legolas brought his hand up to Fili’s jaw, holding it there to bring him in further. A moment later, his hand was slithering down Fili’s neck, very lightly brushing over his chest, and inching lower.

“Is this ok?” Legolas asked.

“Yeah.” Was all Fili had the nerve to say, clutching at Legolas’s back and bracing for impact. Legolas went further, cupping at his crotch when got there, drinking in Fili’s moan.

“We have to be quiet.” Legolas reminded Fili against his lips. They started kissing again and Legolas began to rubbing in ways he liked himself, which apparently worked for Fili as well.

...

The adults ended the night a little later than expected, having gotten caught up in conversation. Bard and Thranduil told the Durin's their plans for approaching the school district, as their group along with the PTA were ready to make their case.

"If you need anymore help, just call me." Bard said to Dis.

"Thank you, you've already helped so much." She replied, hugging him this time.

Thranduil went up to knock on Fili's door. Legolas answered it.

"Are we leaving?" He asked. He looked a little happier, to Thranduil's relief, although it didn't look like he wanted to go anywhere.

"I'm afraid so." Thranduil said. He looked up to see Fili still in bed. "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. If it weren't a school night, I might reconsider."

"Does that mean I can stay on Friday?" Legolas asked hopefully, lighting up a little bit more.

"We'll have to ask Dis and Thorin, but I think they might agree to it." His father replied. "But say your goodbyes for now, we'll wait downstairs."

After the boys kissed goodbye, Fili went downstairs and was greeted with Dis already giving him permission to stay the night in two days. He thanked them profusely, and then the Doriath-Bowmans were off for home. It was about a half hour drive, so the car was silent, save for the quiet song on the radio.

Thranduil was driving, and Bard looked over his shoulder to see Legolas' head tilted back, his eyes closed. He was asleep.

"How much sleep do you think Legolas has gotten in the past two days?" Bard whispered to his husband.

Thranduil looked into the rear view mirror and sighed. "No much, probably."

"Poor kid." Bard said, looking back again. He couldn't help but picture every time he'd seen all of his kids like this. It was possibly the cutest thing a kid could do, even as a teenager. He sat back and thought about his children, all four of them, and his heart ached thinking about what they'd have to fight for in their adult lives. His children were all that was right in the world -- in a world where everything seemed to be falling apart. But as long as they stayed together, he believed they would come out of it ok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as I like whump, I like a little optimism in my stories. I'm also just trying to stay positive in my real life so, here's to the future.


End file.
